Studies of a Baptism of Christ and of Christ carrying the Cross (recto); Saint John the Baptist and a study of a figure embracing figures (verso)

Details

Donato Creti (Cremona 1671-1749 Bologna)
Studies of a Baptism of Christ and of Christ carrying the Cross (recto); Saint John the Baptist and a study of a figure embracing figures (verso)
inscribed ‘Lapis’
pen and brown ink (recto and verso), watermark star
6 ½ x 7 7/8 in. (16.6 x 20.1 cm)

Provenance

Conte Alessandro Maggiori (late 18th-early 19th Century), Faenza and Rome (L. 3005b, his inscriptions ‘Donato Creti fece’ (recto) and ‘Aless. Maggiori compro/ in Bologna l'an:/ no 1792’ (verso).
Claudio Argentieri (1891-1956), Spoleto and Rome (L. 486b).
Pier Giulio Breschi (1874-1937), Rome (L. 2079b).
with W.R. Jeudwine, London (Exhibition of Old Master Drawings at the Alpine Club Gallery, 1961, no. 23), where acquired by Robert Landolt.

Literature

M. Riccòmini, Donato Creti. Le opere su carta. Catalogo ragionato, Turin, 2012, p. 266, no. 109.I, ill.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU or, if the UK has withdrawn from the EU without an agreed transition deal, from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

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Lot Essay

The study on the recto of this drawing can be related to three paintings: one in the church of San Pietro in Fiesso, one in the collections of the city of Bologna, and one recorded on the Milanese art market (Riccòmini, op. cit., p. 85, under no. 95.3, figs. 5, 6, 7). For his assistance in writing this note, we are grateful to Marco Riccòmini, who suggested Creti's inscription ‘Lapis’ may refer to lapis lazuli, the blue pigment which he may have used in the sky of the composition of these paintings.

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