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拍品專文
This study for a Baptism of Christ has been alternatively connected with two altarpieces of the subject executed by Marco Pino in the 1560s for churches in Naples: one for the Crispo Chapel in S. Domenico Maggiore (circa 1564), the other in the apse of S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini from circa 1566-69 (A. Zezza, Marco Pino, Naples, 2002, cat. A35 and A38, ill.). The poses of Christ and Saint John in the drawing appear similar in the Crispo altarpiece. The drawing’s style seems to indicate an earlier dating, as it is still charged with strong Roman influences, from Perino del Vaga (1501-1547), Vasari (1511-1574) and Francesco Salviati (1510-1563). However, the striking landscape, masterfully executed by Pino through pictorial brushwork with blue wash and white gouache, resembles closely the one featured on the monumental panel at S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini.
The present work stands out in Pino’s drawn œuvre for its highly experimental technique and powerful rendering of the setting. He first outlined in reserve the two central figures with pen and brown ink and later, through skilful brushstrokes, conveyed the space around them, introducing the sunbeams breaking through a cloudy sky, the landscape and the tree at left, and the transparency of the river in the foreground. The adoption of blue paper enhances the drawing’s chromatic values and dreamlike appearance. The same support and a similar technique were used by Pino shortly afterwards in The Holy Trinity with the Virgin and John the Baptist (Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, inv. WA1863.664; see Zezza, op. cit., no. C25).
The present work stands out in Pino’s drawn œuvre for its highly experimental technique and powerful rendering of the setting. He first outlined in reserve the two central figures with pen and brown ink and later, through skilful brushstrokes, conveyed the space around them, introducing the sunbeams breaking through a cloudy sky, the landscape and the tree at left, and the transparency of the river in the foreground. The adoption of blue paper enhances the drawing’s chromatic values and dreamlike appearance. The same support and a similar technique were used by Pino shortly afterwards in The Holy Trinity with the Virgin and John the Baptist (Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, inv. WA1863.664; see Zezza, op. cit., no. C25).