Attributed to Alessandro Vellutello

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Attributed to Alessandro Vellutello
Purgatorio, Canto XXIX-XXX. The Seven Lights, the Twenty-four Elders, and the Griffin; Virgil, Dante, Stazio and Matilda Leave the Forest; They Walk along the River; Virgil Disappears
Pen and brown ink on paper.
8 1/8 x 11 inches (207 x 280 mm)
Gift of Mr. H.P. Kraus.
1966.12:18

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Notes: 

Watermark: none visible through lining.
Formerly attributed to Italian School, 16th cent.

Inscription: 

Inscribed by the artist, in pen and brown ink, at upper left, "24 . vecchi fanno / gambo alla croce et sono / coronati di fior d Aliso / cantando. Benedetta tu / ne[l]le figlie d Adamo et benedta / sieno in eterno le bellezze tue"; at lower left, "7. angeli fanno il / pie della croce cantando / osanna"; throughout, labelling the figures, "V[irgilio]; D[ante], S[tazio], M[etelda]"; on the right, written vertically, "fiume Lethe"; at upper right, "dante non / s'accorge che / Virg. lo lascia"; below this, "Virgo [o superscript]. lascia dante e stazio / et partesi"; to the right this, "Li 7. candelieri d oro portati / dagli angeli lasciano nell aere / di fumo dipinto 7. liste di / piu colori come l'arcobaleno".

Provenance: 
J. I. Davis, London; H. P. Kraus (1907-1988), Vienna and New York, by whom presented to the Pierpont Morgan Library in 1966.
Associated names: 

Anonymous, Italian School, 16th cent., Formerly attributed to.
Davis, J. Irving, 1889-1967, former owner.
Kraus, Hans Peter, 1907-1988, former owner.
Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321, Divina Commedia.

Bibliography: 

Rhoda Eitel-Porter, "Drawings for the Woodcut Illustrations to Alessandro Vellutello's 1544 Commentary on Dante's Comedia", Print Quarterly, XXXVI, March 2019, pp. 3-17
Matthew Collins, "The Forgotten Morgan Dante Drawings, Their Influence on the Marcolini Commedia of 1544, and Their Place within a Visually-Driven Discourse on Dante's Poem," Dante Studies 136 (2018): 93-132.
Lamberto Donati, "Commento ad una serie di disegni del XVI secolo illustranti la Divina Commedia", La Bibliofilia, LXV, 1963.
Adams, Frederick B., Jr., ed. Fifteenth Report to the Fellows of the Pierpont Morgan Library, 1967 & 1968. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1969, p. 91-92.
Pierpont Morgan Library. Review of Acquisitions, 1949-1968. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1969, p. 150.

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