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Lot Essay
THE RECTO OF THIS SHEET IS COPIED FROM A LOST DRAWING BY TADDEO ZUCCARO FOR THE LOWER PART OF HIS ALTARPIECE OF THE CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL IN THE CAPPELLA FRANGIPANE IN SAN MARCELLO AL CORSO, ROME, PAINTED BETWEEN 1558 AND 1566, J. GERE, TADDEO ZUCCARO. HIS DEVELOPMENT STUDIED IN HIS DRAWINGS, LONDON, 1968, PL. 104 (THE SMALLER VERSION ON COPPER IN THE GALLERIA DORIA PAMPHILI, ROME). SAINT CECILIA ON THE VERSO IS COPIED FROM BEDOLI'S FRESCO IN SAN GIOVANNI EVANGELISTA, PARMA, M. DI GIAMPAOLO, GIROLAMO BEDOLI, FLORENCE, 1997, NO. 54.
THE RECTO IS AN ADDITION TO THE GROUP OF COPIES BY BERTOIA AFTER TADDEO ZUCCARO. TWO FURTHER SHEETS ARE AT CHATSWORTH AND AT THE YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY, NEW HAVEN, D. DE GRAZIA, BERTOIA, MIROLA AND THE FARNESE COURT, PARMA, 1991, D5 AND D54, FIGS. 94 AND 93. THE FIRST IS A COPY AFTER THE MARTYRDOM OF SAINT PAUL IN THE FRANGIPANE CHAPEL. THIS SHEET, DATED CIRCA 1569 BY DIANA DE GRAZIA, WAS PROBABLY EXECUTED AT THE SAME TIME AS THE PRESENT DRAWING. THE OTHER DRAWING, ALSO DATABLE CIRCA 1569, IS A FREE COPY, VERY SIMILAR IN HANDLING TO THE PRESENT SHEET, AFTER TADDEO'S FRESCO OF AFRICA IN THE SALA REGIA, VATICAN. THE NEW HAVEN DRAWING ALSO BEARS AN OLD ATTRIBUTION TO BERTOIA.
IN JULY 1569 BERTOIA WAS ASKED TO TAKE OVER FROM FEDERICO WHO WAS DISMISSED AS CAPOMAESTRO OF THE TEAM OF PAINTERS WHO WORKED FOR CARDINAL ALESSANDRO FARNESE AT CAPRAROLA. THE DECORATION OF THE CASTLE WAS BEGUN BY TADDEO ZUCCARO IN 1560 AND WAS CONTINUED BY HIS BROTHER AT HIS DEATH IN 1566. WHEN BERTOIA ARRIVED, FEDERICO WAS WORKING IN THE SALA D'ERCOLE. SEVERAL FRESCOES, SUCH AS HERCULES PLUNGES HIS STAFF INTO EARTH AND BERGION AND HIS BROTHER STEALING THE CATTLE THAT HERCULES HAD BROUGHT BACK FROM ERYTHEIA, WERE BEGUN BY FEDERICO AND FINISHED BY BERTOIA. IN THE FORMER FRESCO MOST OF THE FIGURES ARE PAINTED BY FEDERICO, BUT THE TWO FIGURES IN THE FOREGROUND WERE PAINTED BY BERTOIA, D. DE GRAZIA, OP. CIT., P. 72, FIGS. 77-8. UPON HIS DEPARTURE FROM CAPRAROLA, FEDERICO REFUSED TO HAND OVER TO BERTOIA HIS DRAWINGS FOR THE CAPRAROLA DECORATIONS; THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE ARTIST'S COMPOSITIONS, HOWEVER, SUGGESTS THAT BERTOIA HAD INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF FEDERICO'S PROJECTS.
DIANA DE GRAZIA SUGGESTED THAT BERTOIA DREW SUCH COPIES AFTER ZUCCARO 'IN ORDER TO BRING HIS INDIVIDUAL STYLE IN LINE WITH THE WORKS OF [THE ZUCCARI] HE WAS CONTINUING AT CAPRAROLA', D. DE GRAZIA, OP. CIT., P. 127.
LIKE THE DRAWING ON THE RECTO OF THE PRESENT SHEET, THE SKETCH OF SAINT CECILIA ON THE VERSO ALSO SHOWS DIFFERENCES FROM THE FRESCO, WHICH SUGGESTS THAT IT WAS ALSO BASED ON A LOST DRAWING. JOHN GERE POINTED OUT THAT ANOTHER COPY AFTER TADDEO'S CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL FROM THE SKIPPE COLLECTION, SOLD IN THESE ROOMS, 20-1 NOVEMBER 1958, LOT 234, BORE AN OLD ATTRIBUTION TO BERTOIA, OP. CIT., NO. 122.
THE RECTO IS AN ADDITION TO THE GROUP OF COPIES BY BERTOIA AFTER TADDEO ZUCCARO. TWO FURTHER SHEETS ARE AT CHATSWORTH AND AT THE YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY, NEW HAVEN, D. DE GRAZIA, BERTOIA, MIROLA AND THE FARNESE COURT, PARMA, 1991, D5 AND D54, FIGS. 94 AND 93. THE FIRST IS A COPY AFTER THE MARTYRDOM OF SAINT PAUL IN THE FRANGIPANE CHAPEL. THIS SHEET, DATED CIRCA 1569 BY DIANA DE GRAZIA, WAS PROBABLY EXECUTED AT THE SAME TIME AS THE PRESENT DRAWING. THE OTHER DRAWING, ALSO DATABLE CIRCA 1569, IS A FREE COPY, VERY SIMILAR IN HANDLING TO THE PRESENT SHEET, AFTER TADDEO'S FRESCO OF AFRICA IN THE SALA REGIA, VATICAN. THE NEW HAVEN DRAWING ALSO BEARS AN OLD ATTRIBUTION TO BERTOIA.
IN JULY 1569 BERTOIA WAS ASKED TO TAKE OVER FROM FEDERICO WHO WAS DISMISSED AS CAPOMAESTRO OF THE TEAM OF PAINTERS WHO WORKED FOR CARDINAL ALESSANDRO FARNESE AT CAPRAROLA. THE DECORATION OF THE CASTLE WAS BEGUN BY TADDEO ZUCCARO IN 1560 AND WAS CONTINUED BY HIS BROTHER AT HIS DEATH IN 1566. WHEN BERTOIA ARRIVED, FEDERICO WAS WORKING IN THE SALA D'ERCOLE. SEVERAL FRESCOES, SUCH AS HERCULES PLUNGES HIS STAFF INTO EARTH AND BERGION AND HIS BROTHER STEALING THE CATTLE THAT HERCULES HAD BROUGHT BACK FROM ERYTHEIA, WERE BEGUN BY FEDERICO AND FINISHED BY BERTOIA. IN THE FORMER FRESCO MOST OF THE FIGURES ARE PAINTED BY FEDERICO, BUT THE TWO FIGURES IN THE FOREGROUND WERE PAINTED BY BERTOIA, D. DE GRAZIA, OP. CIT., P. 72, FIGS. 77-8. UPON HIS DEPARTURE FROM CAPRAROLA, FEDERICO REFUSED TO HAND OVER TO BERTOIA HIS DRAWINGS FOR THE CAPRAROLA DECORATIONS; THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE ARTIST'S COMPOSITIONS, HOWEVER, SUGGESTS THAT BERTOIA HAD INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF FEDERICO'S PROJECTS.
DIANA DE GRAZIA SUGGESTED THAT BERTOIA DREW SUCH COPIES AFTER ZUCCARO 'IN ORDER TO BRING HIS INDIVIDUAL STYLE IN LINE WITH THE WORKS OF [THE ZUCCARI] HE WAS CONTINUING AT CAPRAROLA', D. DE GRAZIA, OP. CIT., P. 127.
LIKE THE DRAWING ON THE RECTO OF THE PRESENT SHEET, THE SKETCH OF SAINT CECILIA ON THE VERSO ALSO SHOWS DIFFERENCES FROM THE FRESCO, WHICH SUGGESTS THAT IT WAS ALSO BASED ON A LOST DRAWING. JOHN GERE POINTED OUT THAT ANOTHER COPY AFTER TADDEO'S CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL FROM THE SKIPPE COLLECTION, SOLD IN THESE ROOMS, 20-1 NOVEMBER 1958, LOT 234, BORE AN OLD ATTRIBUTION TO BERTOIA, OP. CIT., NO. 122.