These figures elude precise identification. They have traditionally been interpreted as two women accompanied by a winged child, perhaps Cupid. However, it was recently suggested that they may instead be the gods of love and war, Venus and Mars.

The erotic character of this composition is consistent with other drawings by Parmigianino of similar subjects. The tight embrace becomes heavily charged where the figures’ legs overlap. The extensive hatching, sometimes turning into one continuous zigzagging line, indicates that this may be a late work by the artist.

This small drawing, measuring only 12 x 5 cm, has been set into a larger sheet with a ruled architectural design before being pasted on to a mount faced with blue paper and decorated with a ruled border and cartouche. Such mounts contain valuable evidence of previous owners: the mount in this case is a 'Mariette mount' and is named after Pierre-Jean Mariette (1694-1774) whose celebrated collection was dispersed in 1775.

figures only: possibly Giorgio Vasari, Florence (1511-1574) [suggested by C. de Tolnay, note on Witt card]; Pierre Crozat, Paris (1665-1740); his estate sale, Mariette (Paris), 10 April - 13 May 1741, lot 351 (1 of 14 drawings by Parmigianino); purchased there by Pierre-Jean Mariette, Paris (1694-1774), L.1852 (lower left) and L.2859a/b (lower centre) (31.6 livres for the lot), who added the architectural framework; his estate sale, Basan (Paris), 15 November 1775 - 30 January 1776, part of lot 507; purchased there by Charles-Philippe Campion, Abbé de Tersan (1736-1819) (84 livres); Van Parijs, Brussels (c. 1789-1839), L.2531 (mount, lower left); his family estate sale, Frederick Muller & Co. (Amsterdam), 11 January 1878, lot 74; purchased there by Sir Edward John Poynter, London (1836-1919), L.874 (lower left); his sale, Sotheby's (London), 24 - 25 April 1918, lot 98; Kunsthandlung Max Hevesi (Vienna) [stamp now missing, recorded in file, but would have dated pre-1938 when Hevesi emigrated to London]; Robert Langton Douglas (1864-1951); purchased from him by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b, n.d.; Witt Bequest 1952

Drawings Gallery Display - The Art of Experiment: Parmigianino at The Courtauld, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/05/2022-06/05/2022

The Second Hand Re-worked: Art Then and Now, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 18/06/2015-19/07/2015

A Passion for Drawings, Collectors at the Courtauld, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 28/02/2002-09/06/2002 ...More

The Art of Experiment: Parmigianino at The Courtauld, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 2022
cat. no. 20
and on p. 13
p. 109

Weston-Lewis, Aidan, Review of 'Pierre Rosenberg et al., Les dessins de la Collection Mariette: écoles italienne et espagnole' in 'Master Drawings', Spring 2021 - pp. 79-87; LIX, 1
p. 82
Fig. 3

Rosenberg, Paul, Les dessins de la Collection Mariette: écoles italienne et espagnole. 4 vols, Paris 2019
vol. II, no. I 1378 on p. 807
ill. on p. 807 ...More

Watermark: none evident in either sheet but difficult to see clearly through the mount.

Stamp: Now missing, recorded in notes in file: "Kunsthandlung / MAX HEVESI / Wien".

Inscription: Mount (Mariette‘s), Recto: upper right corner, graphite: "295"; lower centre, brown ink in cartouche: "FR. MAZZUOLA / vulgò / PARMIGIANINO."; lower left corner, black ink, referring to Poynter's 1878 purchase: "E.JP. 1878". Mount (Mariette‘s), Verso: upper left, pen and ink: "No. 154. R[? or a paraphe?] / No. 224.6.OP" [no match found on Lugt]; lower right, underlined, upside down: "29418".

Collector's mark: Recto: lower left, stamped in black: Pierre-Jean Mariette (L.1852); lower left corner, stamped in blue: John Poynter (L.874). Mount (Mariette‘s), Recto: lower left, stamped in black, number added in dark brown ink: van Parijs (L.2531), No. 163; lower centre, written in black ink: Pierre-Jean Mariette's cartouche (L.2859a/b); left lower edge, stamped in black: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).