- Museum number
- 1952,1011.3
- Description
-
A young man holding a torch or cornucopia, ascending the stairs, seen from behind
Pen and brown ink
- Production date
- 1470 (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 190 millimetres
-
Width: 153 millimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- A.E. Popham described the present drawing in his report to the Trustees of 29 September 1952 recommending its purchase as 'a fifteenth century Italian study of a figure, the style of which is undoubtedly close to that of the frescoes in the Schifanoia Palace at Ferrara painted by Francesco Cossa and his assistants in 1469'. However, without any direct link to Cossa Popham decided with characteristic scrupulousness to place the drawing as Anonymous Ferrarese School XV. It was only moved to Cossa following Andrea Bracci publication of it as such in 1986. Bracci seems not to have been alerted to Popham's suggestion that it was by Cossa and similar to figures in the Palazzo Schifanoia. In particular Bracci compared the male figure with his back to the viewer in the right foreground of the lower part of 'July' (see R. Varese (ed.), 'Atlante di Schifanoia', Modena, 1989, colour plate on p. 343). This section of the decoration is thought only to have been designed by Cossa rather than executed by him, but as Bracci noted there are also parallels with figures with better claims to have painted by the artist such as the falconer with his fluttering cloak on the left hand side of 'March' (Varese, 1989, illustrated in colour p. 331). While the BM drawing cannot be related directly to any of the surviving scenes in the Salone dei Mesi in the Palazzo Schifanoia, it is conceivable that it was either a study for one of the now severely damaged sections of the work or an abandoned idea for the project. If the drawing is by Cossa, which seems likely, it must date from around 1470 when he is known to have completed the work in the palace. It has a far stronger claim to be by Cossa than the other BM drawing tentatively given to him (1946,0713.212; Popham and Pouncey 42). The only other drawing generally believed to be autograph is a study of a foot, possibly a frament of a cartoon, in Stuttgart (inv. 11/1178; G. Thiem, in exhib. cat., Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie, 'Sammlung Schloss Fachsenfeld: Zeichnungen, Bozzetti und Aquarelli aus 5 Jahrhunderten in Verwahrung der Staatsgalerie Stuttgart', p. 144). For a round-up of drawings associated with Cossa see Agosti.
HC
Lit.: A. Bracci, 'Per il Cossa disegnatore', "Paragone", XXXVII, 431-3, Jan-March 1986, pp. 24-8; idem in exhib cat, Milan, Poldi Pezzoli, "Le Muse e il Principe. Arte di corte ne Rinascimento padano", 1981, no. 55; G. Agosti, 'Disegni del Rinascimento in Valpadana', 2001, under no. 14, p. 120
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
1991, Milan, Mus dei Poldi Pezzoli, Le Muse e il Principe ..., no. 55
2007/8 Sep-Jan, Ferrara, Pal dei Diamanti, Cosmé Tura/Francesco del Cossa
2016-17, Oct-Jan, Suzhou, 'Italian Renaissance Drawings', no. 26
2019 11 Apr-30 Jun, Macau Museum of Art, Macau, 'Italian Renaissance Drawings'
2021-2022 3 Sept – 20 Feb, Beijing, MWOODS, Italian Renaissance Drawings
- Acquisition date
- 1952
- Acquisition notes
- See Popham's report to the Trustees dated 29th September 1952. This and two other drawings (1952,1011.2 to 4) all came from a small album, jointly owned by Mrs Reavell and her sister. They were entirely unaware of what they were and had inherited the album from their grandfather, George Haydon; two drawings by Lambert Lombard were later acquired from this same album (1953,0301.3 and 4). For the full history see 1952,1011.2.
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1952,1011.3