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Lot Essay
A section of the cartoon for Anselmi's frescoes on the vault of the south transept of the Duomo in Parma, attributed for the first time in 2008, independently, by Professor David Ekserdjian and Professor Paul Joannides.
On 21 November 1522 Michelangelo Anselmi signed a contract with the Fabbricieri del Duomo in Parma, in which he undertook to fresco the south transept of the cathedral. This commission formed part of a broader decorative scheme, outlined on 28 November 1522, to include works by Parmigianino and Francesco Rondani. However, Anselmi's commitments for the neighbouring churches of San Giovanni Evangelista and, later, at Santa Maria della Steccata prevented him from executing the frescoes in the cathedral. More than twenty years later, on 14 November 1548, the Fabbricieri tried again and signed another contract with him, commissioning him to paint the south transept and the vault of the first two bays of the nave. This time Anselmi did paint the frescoes in the transept, although he left the nave bays unfinished and these were later painted by other artists. The vault of the south transept had been badly damaged by damp by the mid-18th Century and, in 1768, Antonio Bresciani was commissioned to repaint it, replicating Anselmi's original frescoes.
The vault was divided into four parts and each of the ribs was painted with the figure of a putto-telamon, four of whom 'supported' the central ceiling boss. At the top of the vault a trompe-l'oeil oculus opened onto the sky with putti seated around the rim and garlands below. At the base scenes from the Life of the Virgin, in roundels, and representations of prophets, in oblongs, alternated with grisaille panels, painted to look like marble, which showed frolicking putti. The present cartoon relates to the panel to the right of the prophet Zaccaria, although in Bresciani's fresco and, presumably, in the original the composition has been reversed (Fig. 1). It appears from the condition of the present drawing that it was not used in the actual transfer process and it would seem likely that it acted as an auxiliary cartoon. The sheet would have been placed on top of a blank sheet of paper and the edges pricked through; the blank sheet with the dotted outlines of the composition would then have been placed on the wall and a bag of powdered black chalk pounded against the sheet to transfer the lines onto the damp plaster.
This sheet is one of only three drawings which have been connected to Anselmi's work at the Cathedral and it is the only surviving fragment of cartoon. The other two drawings identified by Professor Ekserdjian are both small-scale figure studies: the first is a sheet at the Courtauld Institute, traditionally attributed to Parmigianino, which Professor Ekserdjian reattributed in his contribution to Basilica Cattedrale di Parma: Novecento anni di arte, storia, fede, Parma, 2005, vol. II, p. 68. The verso of this drawing (inv. D.1978.PG.356.v) shows one of the putti-telamons, a study for one of the putti seated on the rim of the oculus and a sketch of one of the decorative masks with which the fresco is ornamented. Professor Ekserdjian also revived the attribution to Anselmi of a drawing at Chatsworth (inv. 766; M. Jaffé, The Devonshire Collection of Italian Drawings: Bolognese and Emilian Schools, London, 1994, p. 223, no. 651, where attributed to Correggio). Here the twisting figure of the main putto is once again related to one of the telamon figures and the other two putti can be linked with those seated on the rim of the oculus. Yet the present cartoon displays Anselmi's abilities as a draughtsman far more effectively than either of these other related works. The skilfully foreshortened head of the putto on the right, the features softened by sfumato, suggests a knowledge of Leonardo's studies of children; while the joyful riot of movement, which interweaves putti and hoops in a complex rhythm, echoes the vivacity of Classical reliefs and Donatello's Cantoria (Museo del Opera del Duomo, Florence).
We are grateful to Professor David Ekserdjian for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
On 21 November 1522 Michelangelo Anselmi signed a contract with the Fabbricieri del Duomo in Parma, in which he undertook to fresco the south transept of the cathedral. This commission formed part of a broader decorative scheme, outlined on 28 November 1522, to include works by Parmigianino and Francesco Rondani. However, Anselmi's commitments for the neighbouring churches of San Giovanni Evangelista and, later, at Santa Maria della Steccata prevented him from executing the frescoes in the cathedral. More than twenty years later, on 14 November 1548, the Fabbricieri tried again and signed another contract with him, commissioning him to paint the south transept and the vault of the first two bays of the nave. This time Anselmi did paint the frescoes in the transept, although he left the nave bays unfinished and these were later painted by other artists. The vault of the south transept had been badly damaged by damp by the mid-18th Century and, in 1768, Antonio Bresciani was commissioned to repaint it, replicating Anselmi's original frescoes.
The vault was divided into four parts and each of the ribs was painted with the figure of a putto-telamon, four of whom 'supported' the central ceiling boss. At the top of the vault a trompe-l'oeil oculus opened onto the sky with putti seated around the rim and garlands below. At the base scenes from the Life of the Virgin, in roundels, and representations of prophets, in oblongs, alternated with grisaille panels, painted to look like marble, which showed frolicking putti. The present cartoon relates to the panel to the right of the prophet Zaccaria, although in Bresciani's fresco and, presumably, in the original the composition has been reversed (Fig. 1). It appears from the condition of the present drawing that it was not used in the actual transfer process and it would seem likely that it acted as an auxiliary cartoon. The sheet would have been placed on top of a blank sheet of paper and the edges pricked through; the blank sheet with the dotted outlines of the composition would then have been placed on the wall and a bag of powdered black chalk pounded against the sheet to transfer the lines onto the damp plaster.
This sheet is one of only three drawings which have been connected to Anselmi's work at the Cathedral and it is the only surviving fragment of cartoon. The other two drawings identified by Professor Ekserdjian are both small-scale figure studies: the first is a sheet at the Courtauld Institute, traditionally attributed to Parmigianino, which Professor Ekserdjian reattributed in his contribution to Basilica Cattedrale di Parma: Novecento anni di arte, storia, fede, Parma, 2005, vol. II, p. 68. The verso of this drawing (inv. D.1978.PG.356.v) shows one of the putti-telamons, a study for one of the putti seated on the rim of the oculus and a sketch of one of the decorative masks with which the fresco is ornamented. Professor Ekserdjian also revived the attribution to Anselmi of a drawing at Chatsworth (inv. 766; M. Jaffé, The Devonshire Collection of Italian Drawings: Bolognese and Emilian Schools, London, 1994, p. 223, no. 651, where attributed to Correggio). Here the twisting figure of the main putto is once again related to one of the telamon figures and the other two putti can be linked with those seated on the rim of the oculus. Yet the present cartoon displays Anselmi's abilities as a draughtsman far more effectively than either of these other related works. The skilfully foreshortened head of the putto on the right, the features softened by sfumato, suggests a knowledge of Leonardo's studies of children; while the joyful riot of movement, which interweaves putti and hoops in a complex rhythm, echoes the vivacity of Classical reliefs and Donatello's Cantoria (Museo del Opera del Duomo, Florence).
We are grateful to Professor David Ekserdjian for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.