Lot Essay
A STUDÿY FOR A LOST PAINTING OF THE ENRAGED MARS RESTRAINED BY CUPID, RECORDED BY MALVASIA AS AMONG THE PAINTINGS BY GUERCINO REMAINING IN THE ARTIST'S HOUSE AT HIS DEATH: 'MARTE FURIBONDO RIEMTO DA UN AMORINO', FELSINA PITTRICE, BOLOGNA, 1841, II, P. 273. AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING WAS MADE BY GIACOMO GIOVANNINI (1667-1717). THE DATE OF THE PICTURE IS NOT KNOWN, THOUGH MAHON AND TURNER, ON THE BASIS OF THE PREPARATORY DRAWINGS, ARE INCLINED TO SITUATE IT AROUND 1640.
FOUR OTHER DRAWINGS FOR THE COMPOSITION ARE KNOWN: AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM (TURNER AND PIAZZOTTA, NO. 133), COURTAULD INSTITUTE (TURNER AND PIAZZOTA, NO. 132), OBERLIN COLLEGE (STONE, NO. 148) AND AT FRANKFURT (ILLUSTRATED IN MAHON AND TURNER, P. 193). THE PRESENT STUDY IS CLOSEST TO THE RED CHALK AT FRANKFURT; IN BOTH, THE FIGURE OF CUPID RESTRAINING MARS IS NOT INCLUDED.
THIS AND THE FOLLOWING TWO LOTS BOTH COME FROM THE CASA GENNARI; THE LARGE GROUP OF DRAWINGS INHERITED BY GUERCINO'S NEPHEWS AND HEIRS BENEDETTO AND CESARE GENNARI. THE INVENTORY OF THE PROPERTY OF THE GENNARI FAMILY, DRAWN UP IN 1719 REVEALS THAT THE GUERCINO DRAWINGS WERE KEPT IN THREE DIFFERENT WAYS: FRAMED AND HANGING ON THE WALL, PRESERVED IN ELEVEN LARGE ALBUMS AND LOOSE, PRESUMABLY IN FOLDERS. ALL THREE DRAWINGS IN THIS SALE WERE EVIDENTLY PRESERVED IN THE ALBUMS AS THEY HAVE TRACES OF GLUE STAINS WHERE THEY WERE STUCK DOWN. APART FROM THIS DAMAGE THE DRAWINGS FROM THE ALBUMS ARE USUALLY IN GOOD CONDITION AS THEY WERE PROTECTED FROM LIGHT AND DUST. MANY OF THE MORE IMPRESSIVE DRAWINGS SUCH AS LOT 34, WERE LAID DOWN ON BOLDLY DECORATED CASA GENNARI MOUNTS, PRESUMABLY WHEN THE ALBUMS WERE BROKEN UP AND DISPERSED. FILIPPO ANTONIO GENNARI (1677-1751) BEGAN TO SELL DRAWINGS FROM THE CASA GENNARI AND HIS HEIR, CARLO (1716-1790) ACCELERATED TÿHE PROCESS. THE STEADY EROSION OF THE COLLECTION WAS, IN PART INSPIRED BY THE GREAT ENTHUSIASM OF ENGLISH COLLECTORS FOR GUERCINO DRAWINGS, FOR AS MARIETTE NOTED IN THE ABECEDARIO: 'LES ANGLOIS SONT PASSION©ES POUR LES DESSEINS DE GUERCHIN.' THE DEALER WILLIAM KENT WAS AMONG THE FIRST TO EXTRACT DRAWINGS DIRECTLY FROM THE CASA GENNARI; HE SOLD THESE IN LONDON IN 1762. RICHARD DALTON, THE LIBRARIAN OF GEORGE, PRINCE OF WALES, LATER KING GEORGE III, WRITING FROM FLORENCE IN 1758 BOASTED OF HAVING ACQUIRED SOME 40 GUERCINO DRAWINGS, PRESUMABLY BOUGHT FROM THE CASA GENNARI. DALTON SUBSEQUENTLY BOUGHT FOR KING GEORGE III AROUND 800 MORE DRAWINGS FROM THE SAME SOURCE TO CREATE THE LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF GUERCINO DRAWINGS.
APART FROM THE ROYAL COLLECTION THE MOST IMPORTANT GROUP OF GUERCINO DRAWINGS WERE BROUGHT TO ENGLAND BY A CERTAIN 'MR. BOUVERIE', WHOM TURNER CONVINCINGLY ARGUES IS JOHN BOUVERIE (CIRCA 1722-1750), TURNER AND PLAZZOTTA, PP. 21-6. JOHN BOUVERIE INHERITED A LARGE FORTUNE UPON THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER AND ELDER BROTHER IN 1732/3 AND 1734. IN 1742 HE WENT ABROAD ON THE GRAND TOUR, PRINCIPALLY IN ITALY, UNDER THE CARE OF HIS TUTOR JOHN CLEPHANE. AS TURNER POINTED OUT, BOUVERIE IS MENTIONED BY SIR HORACE MANN WRITING TO HORACE WALPOLE FROM FLORENCE ON 11 DECEMBER 1742 AS BEING THE PURCHASER OF A BOOK OF DRAWINGS BY GUERCINO. BOUVERIE BOUGHT THE DRAWINGS FROM A CERTAIN ABB©E BONDUCCI, WHO HAD PRESUMABLY ACQUIRED THEM FROM GUERCINO'S DESCENDENT FILIPPO ANTONIO GENNNARI OR HIS NEPHEW CARLO. BOUVERIE MUST HAVE BOUGHT MORE GUERCINO DRAWINGS ON SUBSEQUENT VISITS TO ITALY IN THE 1740S AS THE SALE AT CHRISTIE'S IN 1859 OF PART OF HIS COLLECTION INCLUDED SOME 200 STUDIES BY THE ARTIST. THE BOUVERIE DRAWINGS PASSED TO HIS NEPHEW, MR. HERVEY, IDENTIFIED BY TURNER AS CHRISTOPHER (DIED 1768). THE COLLECTION THEN PASSED TO CHARLES NOEL, CREATED 1ST EARL OF GAINSBOROUGH IN 1841, AND HE SOLD PART OF IT AT CHRISTIE'S IN 1859. FURTHER SALES OF DRAWINGS FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE 3RD AND 5TH EARLS OF GAINSBOROUGH WERE HELD IN 1922, 1953 AND 1972
FOUR OTHER DRAWINGS FOR THE COMPOSITION ARE KNOWN: AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM (TURNER AND PIAZZOTTA, NO. 133), COURTAULD INSTITUTE (TURNER AND PIAZZOTA, NO. 132), OBERLIN COLLEGE (STONE, NO. 148) AND AT FRANKFURT (ILLUSTRATED IN MAHON AND TURNER, P. 193). THE PRESENT STUDY IS CLOSEST TO THE RED CHALK AT FRANKFURT; IN BOTH, THE FIGURE OF CUPID RESTRAINING MARS IS NOT INCLUDED.
THIS AND THE FOLLOWING TWO LOTS BOTH COME FROM THE CASA GENNARI; THE LARGE GROUP OF DRAWINGS INHERITED BY GUERCINO'S NEPHEWS AND HEIRS BENEDETTO AND CESARE GENNARI. THE INVENTORY OF THE PROPERTY OF THE GENNARI FAMILY, DRAWN UP IN 1719 REVEALS THAT THE GUERCINO DRAWINGS WERE KEPT IN THREE DIFFERENT WAYS: FRAMED AND HANGING ON THE WALL, PRESERVED IN ELEVEN LARGE ALBUMS AND LOOSE, PRESUMABLY IN FOLDERS. ALL THREE DRAWINGS IN THIS SALE WERE EVIDENTLY PRESERVED IN THE ALBUMS AS THEY HAVE TRACES OF GLUE STAINS WHERE THEY WERE STUCK DOWN. APART FROM THIS DAMAGE THE DRAWINGS FROM THE ALBUMS ARE USUALLY IN GOOD CONDITION AS THEY WERE PROTECTED FROM LIGHT AND DUST. MANY OF THE MORE IMPRESSIVE DRAWINGS SUCH AS LOT 34, WERE LAID DOWN ON BOLDLY DECORATED CASA GENNARI MOUNTS, PRESUMABLY WHEN THE ALBUMS WERE BROKEN UP AND DISPERSED. FILIPPO ANTONIO GENNARI (1677-1751) BEGAN TO SELL DRAWINGS FROM THE CASA GENNARI AND HIS HEIR, CARLO (1716-1790) ACCELERATED TÿHE PROCESS. THE STEADY EROSION OF THE COLLECTION WAS, IN PART INSPIRED BY THE GREAT ENTHUSIASM OF ENGLISH COLLECTORS FOR GUERCINO DRAWINGS, FOR AS MARIETTE NOTED IN THE ABECEDARIO: 'LES ANGLOIS SONT PASSION©ES POUR LES DESSEINS DE GUERCHIN.' THE DEALER WILLIAM KENT WAS AMONG THE FIRST TO EXTRACT DRAWINGS DIRECTLY FROM THE CASA GENNARI; HE SOLD THESE IN LONDON IN 1762. RICHARD DALTON, THE LIBRARIAN OF GEORGE, PRINCE OF WALES, LATER KING GEORGE III, WRITING FROM FLORENCE IN 1758 BOASTED OF HAVING ACQUIRED SOME 40 GUERCINO DRAWINGS, PRESUMABLY BOUGHT FROM THE CASA GENNARI. DALTON SUBSEQUENTLY BOUGHT FOR KING GEORGE III AROUND 800 MORE DRAWINGS FROM THE SAME SOURCE TO CREATE THE LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF GUERCINO DRAWINGS.
APART FROM THE ROYAL COLLECTION THE MOST IMPORTANT GROUP OF GUERCINO DRAWINGS WERE BROUGHT TO ENGLAND BY A CERTAIN 'MR. BOUVERIE', WHOM TURNER CONVINCINGLY ARGUES IS JOHN BOUVERIE (CIRCA 1722-1750), TURNER AND PLAZZOTTA, PP. 21-6. JOHN BOUVERIE INHERITED A LARGE FORTUNE UPON THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER AND ELDER BROTHER IN 1732/3 AND 1734. IN 1742 HE WENT ABROAD ON THE GRAND TOUR, PRINCIPALLY IN ITALY, UNDER THE CARE OF HIS TUTOR JOHN CLEPHANE. AS TURNER POINTED OUT, BOUVERIE IS MENTIONED BY SIR HORACE MANN WRITING TO HORACE WALPOLE FROM FLORENCE ON 11 DECEMBER 1742 AS BEING THE PURCHASER OF A BOOK OF DRAWINGS BY GUERCINO. BOUVERIE BOUGHT THE DRAWINGS FROM A CERTAIN ABB©E BONDUCCI, WHO HAD PRESUMABLY ACQUIRED THEM FROM GUERCINO'S DESCENDENT FILIPPO ANTONIO GENNNARI OR HIS NEPHEW CARLO. BOUVERIE MUST HAVE BOUGHT MORE GUERCINO DRAWINGS ON SUBSEQUENT VISITS TO ITALY IN THE 1740S AS THE SALE AT CHRISTIE'S IN 1859 OF PART OF HIS COLLECTION INCLUDED SOME 200 STUDIES BY THE ARTIST. THE BOUVERIE DRAWINGS PASSED TO HIS NEPHEW, MR. HERVEY, IDENTIFIED BY TURNER AS CHRISTOPHER (DIED 1768). THE COLLECTION THEN PASSED TO CHARLES NOEL, CREATED 1ST EARL OF GAINSBOROUGH IN 1841, AND HE SOLD PART OF IT AT CHRISTIE'S IN 1859. FURTHER SALES OF DRAWINGS FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE 3RD AND 5TH EARLS OF GAINSBOROUGH WERE HELD IN 1922, 1953 AND 1972