Jacopo Ligozzi

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Jacopo Ligozzi

1547-1626

Death Strangling a Warrior

1597

Pen and brown ink and wash, with white opaque watercolor, on paper washed in brown.

14 5/8 x 11 1/8 inches (373 x 283 mm)

Purchased by Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) in 1909.

I, 91

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Notes:

Watermark: none.
The drawing is based on a chiaroscuro woodcut of 1510 depicting Lovers Surprised by Death by Hans Burgkmair the Elder (1473-1531).

Inscription:

Inscribed in lower left corner, in pen and brown ink, by the artist, "1597 / IL (monogram)"; in a cartouche at the top, "La morte e fin d'una prigion'oscura"; at right, "si mosse; e disse: o tu donna che vai"; at left, "nel mezo del camin di nostra vitta"; at lower right, "Dopo l'imprese perigliose et vane"; at lower center, "e di tua vita il termine non sai"; on verso, at upper left corner, in graphite, "No 2449"; below that and to the right, "Lot 408 Spencer's Sale"; below this, in pen and brown ink, "Sold by T. Philipe / (4.th day's sale) Thursday June 1813.1811"; at center, in graphite, "Sold in Earl Spencer's Sale"; below that, in pen and brown ink, "the gold border around this drawing indicates its having / formerly belonged to Talman, a great Collector / of Drawings by the Old Masters"; below that and to the left in pen and ink, "Copied from Earl Spencer's Cate[e superscript]. as follows: / "Hopfer (Lambrecht) Germ. 16th[th superscript] century. / 408 An Emblem of human life, a composition of five figures - / pen and bistre, pencil heightened - a vigorous design".

Provenance:

Possibly John Talman (1677-1726; no mark; see Lugt 2462), Hinxworth, Hertfordshire; Nicola Francesco Haym, London (1679-1729; Lugt 1970); the Earls of Spencer, Althorp House, Northamptonshire (Lugt 1530); Spencer sale, London, T. Philipe, 13 June 1811, lot 408 (as Lambert Hopfer, "An emblem of hum lige, a combination of five figures - pen and bistre, pencil heightened - a vigorous design. Monks on back of drawing"); Thomas Dimsdale, London (1758-1823; Lugt 2426); Hogarth [presumably J. Hogarth & Sons, London]; Dr. John Percy (1817-1889; Lugt 1504), London, 1876; his sale, Christie's, London, 24 April 1890, lot 1466 (as Lambert Holfer [sic Hopfer]); Charles Fairfax Murray (1849-1919), London and Florence; from whom purchased through Galerie Alexandre Imbert, Rome, in 1909 by Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), New York (no mark; see Lugt 1509); his son, J. P. Morgan, Jr. (1867-1943), New York.

Associated names:

Talman, John, 1677-1726, former owner.
Haym, Nicola Francesco, former owner.
Dimsdale, Thomas, 1758-1823, former owner.
Percy, John, 1817-1889, 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. 102.
Selected references: Fairfax Murray 1905-12, 1: no. 91; Voss 1920, 1:422n1; Byam Shaw 1956, passim; Daniel 1964, no. 205; New York 1965-66, no. 146; McGrath 1967, 32; Stechow 1967, 195n28; New York 1969, no. 4; Kenseth 1975, no. 18; Byam Shaw 1976, under no. 222; Dreyer 1979, under no. 70; Florence 1986-87a, no. 2.19; Paris 2005, under nos. 40-41; Konec̆ný 2006, no. 3; Florence 2014, 187, 307; New York 2017, 241n2.
Collection J. Pierpont Morgan : Drawings by the Old Masters Formed by C. Fairfax Murray. London : Privately printed, 1905-1912, IV, 91, repr.
Stampfle, Felice, and Jacob Bean. Drawings from New York collections. I: The Italian Renaissance. New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1965, p. 80, no. 146, repr.

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