Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, called Parmigianino
(Italian, 1503–1540)
Study for Figure of Victory on Pectoral Brooch of Pallas Athena, ca. 1531–35
Pen and brown ink, on tan paper prepared with salmon wash
Seated Figure of Pallas Athena, ca. 1531–35
Pen and brown ink, on tan paper prepared with salmon wash
Two Studies for Figure of Victory, ca. 1531–35
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, heightened with lead white
Princeton University Art Museum; Gift of Peter W. Josten in memory of Stephen Spector, 1989
Mariette owned over fifty drawings by Parmigianino, including many small sketches like the three displayed here— two are related to the artist’s painting of Pallas Athena. In this case, the collector’s elegant blue mat was constructed to frame the three fragments together. Particular attention was also paid to the fact that the upper and lower drawings bear pen-and-ink studies on the versos. They are attached to the mat along a single edge; Mariette added abbreviated inscriptions to encourage the viewer to turn the paper over and admire the versos: T. S. V. P. (Tournez S’il Vous Plait, “Please Turn Over”).