Attributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti
1475-1564
Annunciation to the Virgin
15 1/8 x 11 11/16 inches (383 x 297 mm)
Black chalk; incised with stylus.
IV, 7
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) in 1909.
Inscriptions/Markings
Inscribed on the verso on the lining, in pen and brown ink: "From Mr. Lawrence-Woodburn colln / sale catalogue No. 103 / J.C. Robinson"; on verso of mount, in graphite, "Guildhall Exhibition 1895 / 215. / chalk / M.angelo / The Annunciation - A study from / the Celebrated picture by Venusti painted / from designs by M.Angelo - Collection / Charles I".
Watermark: Ladder in a circle, possibly surmounted by a star. (cf. Briquet II, similar to 5919. Pistoioa, 1519; 5923. Florence, 1513-14; 5922. Augsburg, 1506-10/ Sienna, 1495-1524; 5924. Vienna, 1538/ Fabriano, 1532; 5920. Venice, 1491/ Florence, 1492) [Check also Jane Roberts, A Dictionary of Michelangelo's watermarks, Milan, 1988].
Watermark: Ladder in a circle, possibly surmounted by a star. (cf. Briquet II, similar to 5919. Pistoioa, 1519; 5923. Florence, 1513-14; 5922. Augsburg, 1506-10/ Sienna, 1495-1524; 5924. Vienna, 1538/ Fabriano, 1532; 5920. Venice, 1491/ Florence, 1492) [Check also Jane Roberts, A Dictionary of Michelangelo's watermarks, Milan, 1988].
Associated names
Venusti, Marcello, approximately 1512-1579, Possible attribution.
Lanier, Nicholas, 1588-1666, former owner.
Lawrence, Thomas, Sir, 1769-1830, former owner.
Woodburn, Samuel, 1785 or 1786-1853 former owner.
Robinson, J. C. (John Charles), Sir, 1824-1913, 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.
Lanier, Nicholas, 1588-1666, former owner.
Lawrence, Thomas, Sir, 1769-1830, former owner.
Woodburn, Samuel, 1785 or 1786-1853 former owner.
Robinson, J. C. (John Charles), Sir, 1824-1913, 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. 105.
Selected references: Lawrence Gallery 1853, no. 2; Fairfax Murray 1905-12, 4:7; Berenson 1938, no. 1696; Wilde 1959, 377; Tolnay 1975-80, 3: no. 399; Hirst 1988, 54-55; Washington 1988, no. 55; Perrig 1991, 20, 41, 100, 115-16; Joannides 1992, 250-51, 261n26; Vienna 1997, no. IV.53; Wallace 2003, 140-45, 153; Chapman 2005, no. 90; Acidini Luchinat 2007, no. 65; Zöllner, Thoenes, and Pöpper 2007, 574; Munich 2008-9, no. 9; Ottawa 2009, no. 54; Joannides 2011, 22-23; De Ruggieri 2016, 92-93; New York 2017-18, 218-20, no. 191.
Lawrence Gallery. A Series of fac-similes of Original Drawings by M. Angelo Buonarotti, selected from the matchless collection formed by Sir Thomas Lawrence ... published by S. and A. Woodburn, London, 1853, no. 2 (Michelangelo).
Charles Fairfax Murray, Collection of Drawings by the Old Masters formed by C. Fairfax Murray (J. Pierpont Morgan Collection), 4 vols, London 1905-1912, vol. 4, no. 7, repr. (Venusti after Michelangelo).
Johannes Wilde, "Cartonetti by Michelangelo", Burlington Magazine, vol. 101, no. 680, November 1959, p. 377, fig. 1 (Michelangelo).
Michael Hirst, Michelangelo Draftsman, exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1988, no. 55, repr.
William E. Wallace, "Michelangelo and Marcello Venusti: a case of multiple authorship," in Reactions to the Master. Michelangelo's Effect on Art and Artists in the Sixteenth Century, ed. Francis Ames-Lewis and Paul Joannides, Aldershot, 2003, pp. 140, 143, 145, 153, fig. 7.1.
David Franklin, ed., From Raphael to the Carracci : The Art of Papal Rome, exh. cat., National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 2009, pp. 216-217, no. 54, repr.
Selected references: Lawrence Gallery 1853, no. 2; Fairfax Murray 1905-12, 4:7; Berenson 1938, no. 1696; Wilde 1959, 377; Tolnay 1975-80, 3: no. 399; Hirst 1988, 54-55; Washington 1988, no. 55; Perrig 1991, 20, 41, 100, 115-16; Joannides 1992, 250-51, 261n26; Vienna 1997, no. IV.53; Wallace 2003, 140-45, 153; Chapman 2005, no. 90; Acidini Luchinat 2007, no. 65; Zöllner, Thoenes, and Pöpper 2007, 574; Munich 2008-9, no. 9; Ottawa 2009, no. 54; Joannides 2011, 22-23; De Ruggieri 2016, 92-93; New York 2017-18, 218-20, no. 191.
Lawrence Gallery. A Series of fac-similes of Original Drawings by M. Angelo Buonarotti, selected from the matchless collection formed by Sir Thomas Lawrence ... published by S. and A. Woodburn, London, 1853, no. 2 (Michelangelo).
Charles Fairfax Murray, Collection of Drawings by the Old Masters formed by C. Fairfax Murray (J. Pierpont Morgan Collection), 4 vols, London 1905-1912, vol. 4, no. 7, repr. (Venusti after Michelangelo).
Johannes Wilde, "Cartonetti by Michelangelo", Burlington Magazine, vol. 101, no. 680, November 1959, p. 377, fig. 1 (Michelangelo).
Michael Hirst, Michelangelo Draftsman, exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1988, no. 55, repr.
William E. Wallace, "Michelangelo and Marcello Venusti: a case of multiple authorship," in Reactions to the Master. Michelangelo's Effect on Art and Artists in the Sixteenth Century, ed. Francis Ames-Lewis and Paul Joannides, Aldershot, 2003, pp. 140, 143, 145, 153, fig. 7.1.
David Franklin, ed., From Raphael to the Carracci : The Art of Papal Rome, exh. cat., National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 2009, pp. 216-217, no. 54, repr.
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