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Design for a triumphal arch

Maker

(artist)
1481-1536

Formerly attributed to
Giovanni Battista Mola (artist)
1588-1665

Title

Design for a triumphal arch

Medium

red chalk and traces of black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown wash, blue (chalk?) wash on laid paper, with the upper and right sides made up, now laid down on Japanese tissue

Dimensions

Height: 42.7 cm
Width: 28.1 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.2849

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




Provenance

William Sharp, Manchester (possibly 1795-1881), L.2650; possibly his sale, Sotheby's (London), 3-14 March 1878, lot 638 (as by Mola, 'The Gate of Fort Arban'); if so, purchased there by Oliver; anonymous sale, Sotheby's (London), 19 February 1936, lot 47; purchased there by Colnaghi (London) (£1.25); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), 30 September 1937 (£5, in part exchange for another drawing); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Gloria dell'Arte, Philbrook Art Centre, Tulsa, 28/10/1979-27/01/1980

Architectural Drawings from the Witt Collection, University of Nottingham, 01/05/1972-01/06/1972

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

Architectural Drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/07/1961-01/10/1961 ...Less

Literature

Gloria dell'Arte, Philbrook Art Centre, Tulsa, 1979 / 1980
cat. no. 68
ill.

Italian Old Master drawings. Witt Collection, Courtauld Gallery, The National Art Gallery of New Zealand, Wellington, 1970
cat. no. 2

Architectural Drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1961
cat. no. 22

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: centre: circle containing a crossbow (close to Briquet 749, dated 1548).

Inscription: Recto: within the drawing, artist’s hand, measurements: red chalk, upper left: “p16”; the rest all in brown ink: on top of arch: “p2”; centre of arch: “p11”; right centre edge: “p 22 ½”; on inner right side of arch: “p2”, “p4”, “p17”, “p29”, “p22” [this crossed out], “p1”; on column at right: “p x”; “p6”; “p1”; lower centre: “p20”, “p20” and “p10”. Verso (hidden under Japanese tissue): upper centre, brown ink: “archi triomphalj”; upper right, brown ink, initials written as a cipher and hard to read: “JA…y”[? not found on Lugt, see photo]; centre, graphite?, underlined: “n/” or “w/”; centre, brown ink: “S.” or “8.” or "d." above a drawing of small 3-pointed crown [not found on Lugt, see photo]; lower left, brown ink, L.2650: “W.S”.

Collector's mark: Verso: lower left, written in brown: William Sharp (L.2650).

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