Domenico Cresti, il Passignano (1559-1638)

A Pope presenting a marshal's baton to a kneeling figure in front of an assistant

Details

Domenico Cresti, il Passignano (1559-1638)
Cresti, D.
Passignano
A Pope presenting a marshal's baton to a kneeling figure in front of an assistant
black chalk, pen and brown ink, gray-brown wash on gray paper, the outlines of the figures incised
16.3/8 x 12 in. (415 x 311 mm.)

Provenance

G. Vallardi (L. 1223).
with Katrin Bellinger.

Sale room notice

Dr. David Ekserdjian kindly pointed out that Passignano based his composition on Giulio Romano's Donation of Constantine in the Room of Constantine, in the Vatican.

Lot Essay

The largest group of drawings by Passignano is in the Uffizi, Florence, some of which are reproduced in J.L. Nissman in Disegni dei toscani a Roma (1580-1620), exhib. cat., Uffizi, Florence, 1979, nos. 52-72, figs. 62-88. Other drawings are in the Louvre (F. Viatte, Dessins Toscans XVIe-XVIIIe sicles, I, Paris, 1988, nos. 301-314) and at Windsor Castle, A.E. Popham and J. Wilde, The Italian Drawings of the XV and XVI Centuries in the Collection of His Majesty the King at Windsor Castle, London, 1949, nos. 674-676, figs. 132-4.
Passignano studied with Macchietti, but was much influenced by the Zuccari. He worked in Florence, Venice and Rome.