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Taddeo Zuccaro (Sant
St. John the Baptist Preaching
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, heightened with white gouache, on blue paper; on a mount made by Giorgio Vasari
Inscribed on mount in a cartouche, in pen and brown ink, by Vasari, TADDEO ZUCHERO / DA S. AGNOLO. / PITTORE
13 1/16 x 9 3/8 inches (337 x 236 mm)
Gift of Janos Scholz, 1973; 1973.26
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According to Vasari, Taddeo's father sent him to Rome on his own when he was fourteen years old. There he was employed in various workshops and studied independently, particularly the works of Raphael. His earliest independent commission dates from 1553, when he collaborated with Prospero Fontana on the decoration (mostly destroyed) of Pope Julius III's villa outside the Porta del Popolo in Rome.

The purpose of this composition is not certain. Considering, however, that the verso relates to a fresco in San Marcello in Corso, it may represent a rejected study for one of the scenes there. The elaborate mount, which has probably been slightly trimmed, is a page from Vasari's album of drawings, the Libro dei Disegni.

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