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Design for a title page with two saints on pedestals and an imaginary Spanish coat of arms

Maker

(artist)
1601-1667

Formerly attributed to
(artist)
1610-1674

Title

Date of Production

1600 - 1699

Medium

traces of black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown wash, with brown ink framing lines, on laid paper, now laid down on Japanese tissue

Dimensions

Height: 17.5 cm
Width: 12.3 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.171

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

This design is closely related to the title page of Vida y martirio de san Euphrasio by Don Antonio Terrones y Robles (Granada, 1657). The two standing saints are identified as Euphrasius and Potenciana, whilst the coat of arms held by two putti is unknown. The carefully graded applications of the wash, meticulously applied within the contour lines, are typical of Cano’s finished drawings.

Notes

A first version of this composition is in the Prado (inv. D.00070) and the final printed frontispiece was for the Vida y martirio, traslacion, y milagros de San Eufrasio, obispo y patron de Andujar, published in 1657 by Francisco Sanchez, engraved by Pedro Gutierrez. Wethey 1952 considered this drawing to be a copy of the Prado sheet, possibly by the engraver Gutierrez, but Zahira Véliz disagreed, saying the technique and handling are characteristic of Cano. The saints are identified in the engraving's inscription as Euphrasius and Potenciana, but are sufficiently generic that they could be reused, and the coat-of-arms features typically Spanish elements but does not correspond to any known armorial.

Provenance

Sir William Stirling Maxwell, London (1818-1878); by descent to his son, Sir John Stirling Maxwell, Glasgow (1866-1956); his sale, Sotheby's (London), 15 - 16 February 1921, lot 249; presumably purchased there by E. Parsons & Sons (London); their sale, cat. 38, 1921, lot 390 (as by Pedro de Moya); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt (1875-1952) (15 shillings); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

The Spanish Line - From Ribera to Picasso, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 13/10/2011-15/01/2012

Alonso Cano, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 02/04/2001-15/06/2001

Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1978 (March - May) ...More

A selection of Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1956 ...Less

Literature

Mulcahy, Rosemary, 'Review: Spanish drawings in the Courtauld Gallery. Complete catalogue. By Zahira Véliz' in 'The Burlington Magazine', September 2011 - pp. 646-47; CLIV
p. 646

Véliz, Zahira, Alonso Cano (1601-1667). Dibujos. Catálogo Razonado, Fundación Botín, Santander 2011
no. 85
Illus. p. 403

Véliz, Zahira, Spanish Drawings in the Courtauld Gallery: complete catalogue, London, 2011
no. 63
Illus. p. 195 ...More

Alonso Cano: dibujos, Museo del Prado, Madrid, 2001
cat. no. 79
p. 191, no. 79
Illus. p. 191

Véliz, Zahira, Alonso Cano's drawings and related works, PhD thesis, Courtauld Institute of Art, London 1998
pp. 304-05

Wethey, Harold E., Alonso Cano: pintor, escultor y arquitecto, Madrid 1983
p. 168, no. D.69
as by Pedro Gutierrez

Wethey, Harold E., 'Los dibujos de Alonso Cano' in 'Estudios sobre literatura y arte dedicados al Profesor Emilio Orozco Díaz', Granada 1979
?

Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1978 (March - May)
cat. no. 26

Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E., Museo del Prado. Catálogo de dibujos I. Dibujos españoles, siglos XV-XVII, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid 1972
p. 59

A selection of Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1956
cat. no. 10

Wethey, Harold E., 'Alonso Cano's drawings' in 'The Art Bulletin', 1952 - pp. 217-38; XXXIV, 3
p. 233
under 'Copies and wrong attributions' ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: none.

Inscription: none.

Collector's mark: none.

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