Christ on the Cross, with Saint John, Saint Mary Magdalene and the Virgin

Drawn with particularly fine pen work and subtly applied wash, this sheet is a prime example of Cades's more finished and neo-classical drawing style which forms a contrast with his more free and swirly drawings (see, for example, lot 101). Two drawings that show the same figure as the Virgin visible in the background here, but in reverse, are known; one is in a private collection, while the current location of the other is unknown (M.T. Caracciolo, Giuseppe Cades, 1750-1799, et la Rome de son temps, Paris, 1992, nos. 148 D and 148 E, ill.). The figure of the Virgin seems to display the influence on Cades of Michelangelo's work; it is particularly close to Michelangelo's Mourning woman, previously at Castle Howard (sold at Sotheby's, London, 11 July 2001, lot 81). A drawing by Cades that copies figures from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling is in the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin (op. cit., no. 185, ill.). For more on the mount of the present drawing, see the note for lot 51.

We are grateful to Maria Teresa Caracciolo for her assistance in cataloguing this drawing and for confirming the attribution to Giuseppe Cades.