16th Century Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Pen and brownish black ink on grayish-cream laid paper, 6 1/2 x 8 inches (165 x 175 mm), irregular hexagonal sheet with margins. Some archival repairs along the top sheet edge, scatt...

Inscribed on the verso: EE 27/10

Circle of Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci, 1452 – 1519, Clos-Lucé) First half of the 16th century Study of a Bearded Man in Profile, Facing Right Red chalk on paper 8 × 6 cm Unsigned Provenance: Private collection This delicate drawing belongs to the Lombard school and was created by an artist working under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci, very likely within his close circle. The profile recalls the Apostle at the far left of The Last Supper, and may even derive directly from Leonardo’s own compositional sketches for the mural (Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice, inv. 254). While Leonardo’s version carries a profound religious and political message, this sheet reveals a more naturalistic interpretation. The precise outlines and the controlled hatching distinguish it from the master’s hand, yet the subtle modeling of the face in red chalk shows clear echoes of Leonardo’s refined technique. Comparable examples are preserved in the Royal Collection Trust, Windsor, including The Head of an Old Man Crowned with a Wreath of Laurels (recto) and The Head of an Old Man in Profile, both originally from Francesco Melzi...

Florentine School, early 16th century Studies of the Galli Statue and of an Ignudo Pen and brown ink on laid paper 19.1 × 13 cm Executed c. 1510–1520 Unsigned This remarkable doub...

Italian School, 16th Century Studies of Figures Pen and ink on paper, 23 × 24 cm Unsigned A finely executed sheet presenting vigorous figure studies, drawn with assured pen strok...

Attributed to Francesco PENNI (1488 – 1528) Study for a fresco Pen and brown ink, brown wash heightened with white on prepared paper 14 x 12 cm Unsigned On the mount, handwriting ...

STUDIO OF RAFFAELLO SANZIO, called RAPHAEL (Urbino 1483 – Rome 1520) Title The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist Medium Pen and brown ink, brown wash, over black ch...

Italian School, late 16th century Head of a Man and Écorché Studies of Arms Red chalk on laid paper, 21 x 11 cm Provenance: Collection of Michael Jaffé CBE (1923–1997), English art historian and Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge Private collection, France This drawing, attributed to the Italian School of the late 16th century, demonstrates the influence of Michelangelo’s approach to anatomy and expression. The sheet combines two distinct studies: an anatomical rendering of arms in the écorché technique, focusing on the musculature and skeletal details, and a head of a man, drawn with careful attention to light and shadow. The use of red chalk lends the work warmth and immediacy, qualities often associated with Renaissance studies of the human form. The écorché studies reflect the Renaissance fascination with anatomy as both an artistic and scientific pursuit. The detailed depiction of the musculature suggests the artist’s interest in understanding the mechanics of the body, a practice heavily influenced by Michelangelo’s drawings...

L'Annunziata in S. M. sopra Minerva is an original old master artwork realized by Giovanni Fontana. Ivory colored sheet attached on an ivory colored cardboard ( cm 35.8 x 26.7) Bea...

An old master drawing that can live in a very contemporary environment! Remarkable use of line and expression - should be enjoyed in an important spot - can grace a kitchen or livin...

Roman School (circa 1590–1620) Study of a Male Executioner Black chalk on laid paper, 275 x 199 mm Unsigned Formerly Giancarlo Sestieri Collection This dynamic figure study, exe...

The painting and the preparatory drawing are offered together. Provenance Private collection, Germany, Trier, c. 1980- 2013 Saint John the Baptist Brown ink and wash over red chalk on oatmeal paper 31 x 20.5 cm Inscribed: „Ferrau Fenzonio da Faenza invt. esque … imp. da Fran. Villamena …“. bears the collector's mark of Henry Scipio Reitlinger (1882-1950; Lugt 2274a) on a tiny label glued to the verso On the reverse is a partial drawing of a Pieta, pricked for transfer. Provenance New York, Doyle, 14. October 2015, No. 6 The painting and the preparatory drawing resemble the composition of an engraving after Ferraù Fenzoni by Francesco Villamena. Drawing, engraving and painting are almost identical, except for minor differences. Even the measurements nearly correspond: painting (32 x 25,5 cm), drawing (30 x 20,5 cm), engraving (31,1 x 23,5 cm). Dr. Guiseppe Scavizzi confirmed the attribution of the present panting to Fenzoni and he dates it to c. 1590. The inscription on the drawing reads “Ferrau Fenzonio da Faenza invt. esque. . . imp. da Fran: Villamena . . .”. The engraving’s inscription also lists place and date “Ferra Fensionius inventor/F. Villamoena sculpsit Rome/Aspectu fruitur… antra puer/cum Privilegio… 1613”. Interestingly, the engraving is not mirrored as it is in most printing processes. Painting, drawing and engraving are not reversed but the same. It is remarkable to note that there are further paintings by Fenzoni which were engraved in the same order and not reverted. They also show strong parallels regarding the compositions and the measurements (see for example “Deposition of Christ” ). Ferraù Fenzoni was an Italian painter mainly active in Todi. He is also called Il Faenzone after his birthplace (Faenza). He apprenticed in Rome during the papacy of Gregory XIII and contributed to numerous fresco cycles under pope Sixtus V, such as the Loggia della Benedizioni in the Lateran Palace, the frescoes on the walls and vaults of the Scala Santa of the adjacent Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, and the decoration in the Sistine library. His expressive canvases straddle the styles of Mannerism and Baroque. In 1594, he moved to Todi. A “Last Judgement” by him is housed in the cathedral of Todi. He returned to Faenza in 1599, where he decorated chapels in the cathedral from 1612 to 1616. In 1622, he completed a “Deposition”, now in the local Pinacoteca. In 1640, Fenzoni was named “cavaliere dello speron d’oro” by Cardinal Colonna and, on 25th April 1634, he was nominated vicar and “castellano of Granarolo”. Fenzoni‘s style is characterized by a mixture of the Mannerism of the Northern Netherlands and the Italian Baroque. Saint John the Baptist, Old Master, 17th Century, By Fenzoni, Religious Scene, Rome Art...

Taddeo Zuccaro (Urbino 1529 – 1566 Rome) and Workshop (?) Seated Woman Holding a Staff Pen and brown ink, brown wash heightened with white, traces of red chalk on laid paper 37 x 27...

Old Master Drawing by the Circle of Lambert Lombard. Drawing/ Study of a Man in Renaissance Style, later signed "F. Floris". Study of a Man Lombard li...

CARLO URBINO (Crema 1525 - after 1585) Draped Woman Holding a Branch Pencil and brown ink on laid paper 13.6 x 7.7 cm Unsigned 16th century Mounted on 20th-century paper Handwrit...

STEFANO DALL’ARZERE (Padua, circa 1520 – 1570) Saint Jerome Praying, with a Landscape in the Background Pen and brown ink, heightened with white over black chalk lines 15.5 x 12 cm...

Andrea Boscoli (Florence, Italy, 1564 – Rome, Italy, 1608) Title: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘰 𝘥𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘰 Medium: Pen and brow...

Inscribed: 3. una Madonna che va in Egitto, verso, and Madonna che va in Egitto, recto Provenance: Private Collection, UK, since 1999 This expressive and boldly executed drawing is the work of Luca...

This magnificent drawing from the Venetian Renaissance intrigues us in many ways. It depicts an allegorical composition whose meaning partly escapes us: a veiled figure seated on a stone bench (which we have identified as Chastity), seems to be turning away from a woman's bust beside her, below which are two rabbits, a traditional allegory of fertility, but also sometimes of lust. This drawing, executed on blue paper, undoubtedly belongs to the Venetian Renaissance. The inscriptions on the back of the old mounting board indicate the various attributions considered by its last owner, the British painter and art historian Sir Lawrence Gowing. We have retained the attribution to Giuseppe Porta proposed by art historian John Arthur Gere as the most relevant. We were incredibly fortunate to find a hexagonal frame of a very similar format for this drawing, the upper corners of which were formerly cut (irregularly). This 17th-century Dutch frame comes from an aristocratic collection in Lombardy, and creates a kind of fascinating chase around this Venetian drawing...

Sleeping Boy is an original modern artwork realized in the 16th century by Giovanni Fontana. Ivory colored sheet attached on an ivory colored cardboard (...

Monumento al popolo is an original drawing realized by Giovanni Fontana in the 16th century. Ivory colored paper attached on an ivory colored sheet. Includes frame: 48.5 x 1 x 44 c Beautiful drawing in graphite, representing the funeral monument...

Tribuna della Basilica Labicana is an original old master artwork realized in 16th century by Giovanna Fontana. IIvory colored paper attached on an ivory colored sheet (cm 27 x 36.7...

This large sheet, delicately enhanced with blue ink wash, was created by Lodovico Cardi, known as Il Cigoli, the most prominent painter in Florence at the end of the 16th century. It...

Pantheon is an original drawing realized by the Italian architect Giovanni Fontana (1540-1614) in the late 16th century. Ivory colored paper attached on an ivory colored sheet. Inc...

Attributed to Jan VAN DER STRAET, called Stradanus (Bruges, 1523 – Florence, 1605) Hunting Scene Pen and brown ink, brown wash and white heightening on prepared brown paper, 26 × 31 cm Unsigned Provenance Private collection, France This striking and highly accomplished drawing depicts a wild boar hunt in a wooded landscape, animated by numerous figures and animals. The dramatic energy of the foreground, where hounds and hunters engage the beast, is heightened by the bold use of white heightening, which models the forms and enlivens the surface. The background, structured by tall trees and populated with additional hunting scenes, lends the composition a theatrical depth. Attributed to Jan van der Straet, known as Stradanus, this work belongs to the artistic context of Medicean Florence, where the artist developed an important body of hunting scenes intended for illustration and engraving. Influenced by Italian Renaissance models as well as his native Flemish culture, Stradanus excelled in dynamic storytelling and elegant draftsmanship. The drawing may have been a preparatory study for one of the compositions from the celebrated Venationes Ferarum, Avium, Piscium series, engraved in Antwerp under the supervision of Philips Galle...

The announcement in S. Maria sopra Minerva is an original drawing in pencil on paper, realized by Giovanni Fontana. The state of preservation of the artwork is good except for some ...

Felice Pinariccio, known as Le Lasagna (active in Bologna during the 1560s-1570s) Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome Pen and brown ink, brown wash heighte...

Jacopo Zanguidi BERTOJA (1544-1574) Combat of five figures, bas-relief from the School of Athens after Raphael Ink on paper 43×34cm Interesting thing According to Professor David E...