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Scene from the life of Don Juan of Austria: his entrance into Naples

Maker

Attributed to
(artist)
1560-1631

Formerly attributed to
(artist)
1590-1646

Title

Scene from the life of Don Juan of Austria: his entrance into Naples

Date of Production

1590-1620

Medium

chalk (black), pen and ink (brown), wash (blue), squared in chalk (red) and framed in brown ink on laid paper with all four corners cut

Dimensions

Height: 27.3 cm
Width: 39.8 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.2789.1

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 drawing belongs to a set of eleven scenes illustrating the arrival of Don Juan of Austria (1547–1578) in Naples. Don Juan was an illegitimate son of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and these scenes are connected to the history of Spanish rule over the Kingdom of Naples. It is, however, unclear which specific episode from Don Juan’s life is depicted here. The sheet shows the expulsion of a group of figures from a turreted city.

Provenance

George Guy, Earl of Warwick (1818-1893); Sotheby's (London), 1 July 1936; purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

The “invention of many works“: Domenico Fontana (1543-1607) and his worksites, Pinacoteca Cantonale Giovanni Züst, Rancate, Switzerland, 26/11/2022-19/02/2023

Special Display - Neapolitan drawings, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 06/10/2011-26/01/2012

Literature

Vincenzo Fontana, Mauro, 'Giovanni Balducci e il disegno: novità per il periodo fiorentino e una proposta per il Palazzo Reale a Napoli' in 'I Bozze', September 2014
pp. 10-11
ill. on fig. 20

Fischer, Chris and Joachim Meyer, Neapolitan drawings: Italian drawings in the Department of Prints and Drawings, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen 2006
p. 44, n. 4 under no. 2

Giampaolo, Mario Di, 'Balducci o Corenzio? Un'ipotesi' in 'Kunst des Cinquecento in der Toskana', Munich 1992 - 329-334
p. 331
fig. 17 on p. 333 ...More

Bean, Jacob and Lawrence Turcic, 15th and 16th century Italian drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1982
p. 66, under no. 54

Nicola Navone, Letizia Tedeschi, Patrizia Tosini, Le 'invenzioni di tante opere' Domenico Fontana e i suoi cantieri, Archivio del Moderno, 2022
pp. 250-254 ...Less

Inscriptions

Inscription: Bellissario Corenzio no: undici fatti istorici di S.A. il Principe Giovanni d'Austria nella sua venuta / in Napoli //

Collector's mark: collector's mark of Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b)

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