Lot Essay
This previously unpublished drawing is a study for one of the first pair of anthropomorphic heads, that served as bases for six of the eight bronze angels executed by Beccafumi for the choir of the Cathedral at Siena.
Like many earlier Sienese artists, including Vecchietta, Francesco di Giorgio and Neroccio, Beccafumi was celebrated both as a painter and as a sculptor. The major equestrian statue of the Emperor Charles V, commissioned in 1530 and delivered in time for the Emperor's visit to Siena in 1536 was his most ambitious undertaking in the medium. The Angels in the Cathedral are now the only works by which Beccafumi's high calibre as a sculptor can be judged. Documents establish that Beccafumi received an advance of 120 lire for two of the Angels, on 10 March 1547 : and a similar sum for two others on 18 April. The necessary wax was paid for on 20 June, the bronze on 2 August. Wax for the four remaining angels was paid for on 26 February 1548. Work thus was proceeding at the time of Beccafumi's death early in 1551. For full details see A. Bagnoli, in Domenico Beccafumi e il suo Tempo, Milan, 1990, pp. 528-30.
There is a perceptible difference in character between the two pairs of 1547 and those that followed. The design of the former is, as Bagnoli observes, directly comparable with the figural style of Beccafumi's altarpiece of the Annunciation at Sarteano which was
ordered in 1545 and delivered a year later. The anthropomorphic heads of the bases of six of the Angels are very similar in character.
This drawing is most directly comparable with the base of the right hand angel of the second pair and thus very probably dates from the spring or summer of 1547. While the companion sheet would seem to have been prepared in connection with the same project, this study is of importance as the only detailed drawing of the kind for sculpture by Beccafumi and is the latest date of his extant drawings.
Like many earlier Sienese artists, including Vecchietta, Francesco di Giorgio and Neroccio, Beccafumi was celebrated both as a painter and as a sculptor. The major equestrian statue of the Emperor Charles V, commissioned in 1530 and delivered in time for the Emperor's visit to Siena in 1536 was his most ambitious undertaking in the medium. The Angels in the Cathedral are now the only works by which Beccafumi's high calibre as a sculptor can be judged. Documents establish that Beccafumi received an advance of 120 lire for two of the Angels, on 10 March 1547 : and a similar sum for two others on 18 April. The necessary wax was paid for on 20 June, the bronze on 2 August. Wax for the four remaining angels was paid for on 26 February 1548. Work thus was proceeding at the time of Beccafumi's death early in 1551. For full details see A. Bagnoli, in Domenico Beccafumi e il suo Tempo, Milan, 1990, pp. 528-30.
There is a perceptible difference in character between the two pairs of 1547 and those that followed. The design of the former is, as Bagnoli observes, directly comparable with the figural style of Beccafumi's altarpiece of the Annunciation at Sarteano which was
ordered in 1545 and delivered a year later. The anthropomorphic heads of the bases of six of the Angels are very similar in character.
This drawing is most directly comparable with the base of the right hand angel of the second pair and thus very probably dates from the spring or summer of 1547. While the companion sheet would seem to have been prepared in connection with the same project, this study is of importance as the only detailed drawing of the kind for sculpture by Beccafumi and is the latest date of his extant drawings.