Paris Bordone
1500-1571
Man Playing a Viola da Gamba
ca. 1525-1535
7 3/8 x 3 1/8 inches (188 x 83 mm; maximum dimensions)
Black and white chalk, on blue laid paper.
I, 75
Purchased by Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) in 1909.
Notes
Watermark: none.
Formerly attributed to Jacopo Bassano, ca. 1518-1592.
This sheet was once attributed to Titian himself (and also to Tintoretto), but the handling of the chalk and the morphology of the head and hands support the attribution to Bordone. It is in fact based on a drawing by Titian, although Titian's original study is in pen and ink rather than the black and white chalk adopted here. Bordone had trained under Titian and learned to emulate the master's style exceedingly well. It is tempting to imagine this as an attempt to outdo the master in his own manner of chalk drawing. -- Exhibition Label, from "Drawing in Tintoretto's Venice"
Formerly attributed to Jacopo Bassano, ca. 1518-1592.
This sheet was once attributed to Titian himself (and also to Tintoretto), but the handling of the chalk and the morphology of the head and hands support the attribution to Bordone. It is in fact based on a drawing by Titian, although Titian's original study is in pen and ink rather than the black and white chalk adopted here. Bordone had trained under Titian and learned to emulate the master's style exceedingly well. It is tempting to imagine this as an attempt to outdo the master in his own manner of chalk drawing. -- Exhibition Label, from "Drawing in Tintoretto's Venice"
Inscriptions/Markings
Inscribed on verso of mount, in graphite, "Tintoretto" (cancelled); in pen and black ink, "Bassano after Titian / this figure occurs in a / compn [n superscript] engraved by Lefebre / from the coll of R. Udney / whose mark has been / erased".
Associated names
Bassano, Jacopo, approximately 1518-1592, Formerly attributed to.
Udny, Robert, 1722-1802, former owner.
Murray, Charles Fairfax, 1849-1919, former owner.
Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, former owner.
Morgan, J. P. (John Pierpont), 1867-1943, former owner.
Udny, Robert, 1722-1802, former owner.
Murray, Charles Fairfax, 1849-1919, former owner.
Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, former owner.
Morgan, J. P. (John Pierpont), 1867-1943, former owner.
Bibliography
Rhoda Eitel-Porter and and John Marciari, Italian Renaissance Drawings at the Morgan Library & Museum, New York, 2019, no. 63.
John Marciari, Drawing in Tintoretto's Venice, New York, 2018, no. 2, fig. 8, repr.
Selected references: Fairfax Murray 1905-12, 1: no. 75; Tietze and Tietze-Conrat 1944, no. 403; Vitzthum 1970, 89; Venice 1976a, no. 85; Rearick 1987, 53; Wethey 1987, under no. 35; Chiari Moretto Wiel 1988, no. 115; Paris 1993, under no. 94, and no. 142; Rearick 2001, 108, 215n88; Donati 2014, 180, 433, 434; New York and Washington 2018-19, 28-29, no. 2.
Collection J. Pierpont Morgan : Drawings by the Old Masters Formed by C. Fairfax Murray. London : Privately printed, 1905-1912, I, 75
John Marciari, Drawing in Tintoretto's Venice, New York, 2018, no. 2, fig. 8, repr.
Selected references: Fairfax Murray 1905-12, 1: no. 75; Tietze and Tietze-Conrat 1944, no. 403; Vitzthum 1970, 89; Venice 1976a, no. 85; Rearick 1987, 53; Wethey 1987, under no. 35; Chiari Moretto Wiel 1988, no. 115; Paris 1993, under no. 94, and no. 142; Rearick 2001, 108, 215n88; Donati 2014, 180, 433, 434; New York and Washington 2018-19, 28-29, no. 2.
Collection J. Pierpont Morgan : Drawings by the Old Masters Formed by C. Fairfax Murray. London : Privately printed, 1905-1912, I, 75
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