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Figure bending over seen from the rear - study for the Doctor in 'The Circumcision' (1590, Louvre) (recto)

Maker

(artist)
1533-1612

Title

Date of Production

1580s

Medium

black, red and white chalk over blind stylus (recto), black and white chalk (verso), on blue laid paper (paper is variegated, made up of fibres dyed blue with indigotin)

Dimensions

Height: 33.3 cm
Width: 22.8 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.2329

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 is one of six drawings for the figure of the attendant in Barocci’s Circumcision of Christ, commissioned for the altar of the Church of the Name of Jesus in Pesaro. The man bends forward to circumcise the infant Christ, who is securely held on the lap of the High Priest. The drawing conveys the intense concentration and devotion of the circumciser, who is the formal and emotional intermediary between the viewer and the Child. The figure is executed with three coloured chalks, a new technique that became highly popular among draughtsmen.

Notes

The painting was made for the Compagnia del Nome di Dio, for the high altar of the church of Nome di Gesu at Pesaro. The verso of this drawing is preparatory for the mantle of the Virgin in the same painting.

Provenance

Carl Wiesböck, Vienna (1811-1874), L.2576; Edward Habich, Boston and Cassel (1818-1901), L.862; Paul von Baldinger-Seidenberg, Stuttgart (1837-1904, L.212; W. Hirsch; purchased from him by Colnaghi (London), 16 January 1936; purchased there by Captain Norman Robert Colville (1893-1974), 24 January 1936, for £16; purchased back from him by Colnaghi (London), 24 October 1936; purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b, 24 January 1938, for £20; Witt Bequest, 1952

Exhibition History

Drawn to Blue: Artists' use of Blue Paper, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 04/10/2024-26/01/2025

Drawings Gallery Display - Drawing Together, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 30/09/2017-02/01/2018

Drawings Gallery Display - Renaissance Modern, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 22/04/2015-07/06/2015 ...More

A Touch of the Divine - Federico Barocci in British Collections, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England, 16/02/2006-29/05/2006

The Witt Collection - Four centuries of drawings, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/04/2004-20/06/2004

Master Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 16/10/1991-19/01/1992

Drawings by Guercino and other Baroque Masters, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/02/1977-01/03/1977

Federico Barocci, Museo Civico, Bologna, 1975

Italian Old Master drawings. Witt Collection, Courtauld Gallery, The National Art Gallery of New Zealand, Wellington, 1970

16th Century Italian Drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1969

Between Renaissance and Baroque: European art 1520-1600, Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester, 10/03/1965-06/04/1965

Old Master Drawings from the Witt Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, 01/09/1960-01/10/1960

Drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1958-59

Old Masters from the Witt Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 01/01/1943-01/05/1943 ...Less

Literature

The Courtauld Gallery and Thomas, Ben. Drawing Together (London: Courtauld Gallery, 2017-2018)
p. 27-29
ill. on p. 28

Master Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1991
cat. no. 3
pp. 14, 171
ill. on p. 15 (recto), p. 170 (verso)

Emiliani, A., Federico Barocci, Bologna, 1985
vol. II, no. 527 ...More

Mantegna to Cezanne: Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 1983
cat. no. 8
ill. on p. 24

Shearman, John, 'Barocci at Bologna and Florence' in 'Burlington Magazine', January 1976 - 49-54; 118, 874
p. 54
pls. 53, 54

Italian Old Master drawings. Witt Collection, Courtauld Gallery, The National Art Gallery of New Zealand, Wellington, 1970
cat. no. 18

Olsen, H., Federico Barocci, Copenhagen, 1962
under no. 43
pl. 68b

Old Master Drawings from the Witt Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, 1960
cat. no. 19

Drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1958 - 1959
cat. no. 45 ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower left, black chalk: “F. Baroccio“. Verso: upper left, brown ink, number written under L.2576: “854“; lower centre, black chalk: “Barroccio“; lower left, graphite: “43“.

Collector's mark: Recto: lower left, stamped in black: Paul von Baldinger-Seidenberg (L.212); lower left corner, stamped in purple: Edward Habich (L.862). Verso: upper left, written in brown: Carl Wiesböck (L.2576) [with number “854“ below]; lower right edge, stamped in black, cut off at edge: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).

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