Florentine school, sixteenth century

These two studies of horses, which Mariette believed to be by the sculptor Giambologna (1529–1608), today seem to be one composition, but this was not originally the case. Upon careful examination, a vertical seam is visible between the two animals. The sketches were probably drawn by the artist on a larger sheet of paper, perhaps too wide to fit in Mariette’s standard mat. The collector cut out the two studies and carefully reassembled them closer together to create a more compact composition. Similarly, he removed the old handwritten inscription from the original sheet and inserted it at the lower left of the newly reconfigured drawing.