Cesare Franchi
approximately 1555-1595
A Frieze with Pairs of Hippocampi
sight: 2 11/16 x 8 inches (68 x 23 mm)
Pen and brown ink with black chalk and lead white opaque watercolor on paper prepared with a red wash.
2009.358
The Joseph F. McCrindle Collection.
Notes
This drawing entered the Morgan Library & Museum as by an anonymous Italian artist of the sixteenth century on the basis of a stylistic comparison with a drawing identified by Philip Pouncey (1910-1990) as by Pollini (called Cesare dal Francia). Rhoda Eitel-Porter also suggested the artist might be Cesare Pollini. The drawing identified by Philip Pouncey is known from a photograph in the British Museum, and it was previously owned by "Higgins, Paris" under the name Carletto Veronese. Both drawings show a similar use of rose-colored wash, with distinct heightening in white gouache and a similar handling of the pen. The Morgan Library & Museum sheet can also be compared to a second sheet, in the Musée du Louvre, entitled "A Group of Horsemen" (inv. 2731), which also prominently features prancing horses in profile. While the Louvre sheet employs a gray rather than rose wash, the contours of the horses are similar--particularly in the animals' twisting necks.
Inscriptions/Markings
Inscribed on verso, in pen and brown ink, "La porta romana di Fiorenza 39"
Associated names
McCrindle, Joseph F., former owner.
Anonymous, Italian School, 16th cent., Formerly attributed to.
Anonymous, Italian School, 16th cent., Formerly attributed to.
Artist
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Catalog link
Department