Pier Leone Ghezzi

Zoom image

Download image:

141806v_0001.jpg

Pier Leone Ghezzi

1674-1755

Self-Portrait

Pen and brown ink, over black chalk, on laid paper.

7 1/2 x 5 1/8 inches (190 x 130 mm)

Purchased on the Sunny Crawford von Bülow Fund 1978.

1978.28

Zoom image

Download verso image:

141806v_0002.jpg

Inscription:

Numbered on old mount at upper right, in red chalk, "231"; inscribed at lower right, in pen and brown ink, "Raffaele Mens. 28"; variously inscribed and numbered on verso.

Provenance:

Guglielmo Poggi (Lugt S. 2034a); Prof. John Isaacs; his sale, London, Sotheby's, 27 February 1964, lot 190 (as Mengs); H. M. Calmann, London; Davis Daniels, New York; his sale, London, Sotheby's, 25 April 1978, lot 28, repr.; acquired from E. V. Thaw and Co., New York.

Bibliography:

Ryskamp, Charles, ed. Nineteenth Report to the Fellows of the Pierpont Morgan Library, 1978-1980. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1981, p. 194-195.

Notes:

Watermark: none visible through lining.
Here Ghezzi portrayed himself in fanciful costume, holding a caricature of himself wearing a cape. This humorous work is a self-portrait within a self-portrait, showing the whimsy of the artist, who is best known for his caricatures of Romans as well as notable visitors to the city. Ghezzi's two depictions of himself seem to stand facing one another, one pointing his finger at the other as if in conversation. -- Exhibition Label, from "Life Lines: Portrait Drawings from Dürer to Picasso."

Associated names:

Poggi, Guglielmo, former owner.
Isaacs, John, former owner.
Calmann, Hans M., 1899-1982, former owner.
Daniels, Davis, former owner.

Catalog link:

See more information »

Artist page:

School:

Century:

Classification:

Department: