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Study for the Coronation of the Virgin in Santa Maria della Steccata, Parma (recto); Study of a nude male figure (verso)
Maker
(artist)
1503-1540
1503-1540
Title
Study for the Coronation of the Virgin in Santa Maria della Steccata, Parma (recto); Study of a nude male figure (verso)
Date of Production
(circa) 1535 - 1539
Medium
pen and brown ink on laid paper, partially framed in a semi-circle in brown ink, laid down on a historic mount; the paper is flocked with blue fibres and may have originally been blue; with transmitted light it appears there is media, probably chalk, on the verso at upper left, which also becomes more apparent under UV
Dimensions
Height: 12.9 cm
Width: 14.1 cm
Width: 14.1 cm
Accession Number
D.1978.PG.367
Mode of Acquisition
Count Antoine Seilern, bequest, 1978
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Location
Not currently on display
Keywords
Label Text
In 1531, Parmigianino received the principal commission of his final decade: the decoration of the vaulted ceiling in the church of Santa Maria della Steccata in Parma. This drawing reveals Parmigianino’s ideas for a scene of the Coronation of the Virgin, which was planned for the dome but never executed. Christ, seated on a rainbow-like arc, crowns his mother Queen of Heaven as she ascends on a throne of clouds borne aloft by putti. The Virgin gestures back to a male figure, probably Saint John the Baptist, patron saint of the city. Technical analysis recently uncovered the study of a man on the reverse of this sheet. Parmigianino’s aim in this drawing was to illustrate ideal human proportions, focusing on the symmetry and the delineation of the man’s musculature and facial features.
Notes
The figure on the verso is only visible under infrared light.
Provenance
possibly a French collection [as indicated by "Parmesan" written on the historic mount]; Dr Carl Robert Rudolf, London (1884-1974); purchased from him via Colnaghi (London) by Count Antoine Seilern, London (1901-1978), 25 January 1963 (£2,000); Princes Gate Bequest 1978 Popham 1971 lists J. Dupan as part of the provenance for this drawing, and this is then repeated in the New York and London 2000-01 catalogue and Gnann 2007. But there is no evidence of this, and most likely arose from confusing the provenance of this drawing with that of D.1978.PG.363, which was purchased on the same day via the same dealer and which has Dupan listed in the provenance on the paperwork from Colnaghi. The paperwork is quite explicit, however, that this only applies to D.1978.PG.363, which in fact bears Du Pan's mark L.1440, but Rudolf is the only previous owner listed for this drawing PG.367.
Exhibition History
Drawings Gallery Display - The Art of Experiment: Parmigianino at The Courtauld, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/05/2022-06/05/2022
Correggio and Parmigianino: master draughtsmen of the Renaissance, British Museum, London, 06/10/2000-07/01/2001
Parmigianino - Paintings, Drawings, Prints, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 14/05/1987-12/07/1987 ...More
Old Master Drawings from the Collection of Mr. C. R. Rudolf, Arts Council Gallery, London, 05/01/1962-03/02/1962; Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, 17/02/1962-11/03/1962; Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds, 17/03/1962-07/04/1962
De Madonna in de Kunst, Antwerp, 28/08/1954-30/11/1954
Drawings by Old Masters, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1953 ...Less
Correggio and Parmigianino: master draughtsmen of the Renaissance, British Museum, London, 06/10/2000-07/01/2001
Parmigianino - Paintings, Drawings, Prints, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 14/05/1987-12/07/1987 ...More
Old Master Drawings from the Collection of Mr. C. R. Rudolf, Arts Council Gallery, London, 05/01/1962-03/02/1962; Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, 17/02/1962-11/03/1962; Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds, 17/03/1962-07/04/1962
De Madonna in de Kunst, Antwerp, 28/08/1954-30/11/1954
Drawings by Old Masters, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1953 ...Less
Literature
The Art of Experiment: Parmigianino at The Courtauld, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 2022
cat. no. 8
and on pp. 20, 28, 60, 163-66, 172
ill. on p. 69, infrared is fig. 24 on p. 71, detail on p. 162, technical images are figs. 67-71 on pp. 163-66
Parmigianino: dessins du Louvre, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 17 December 2015-15 February 2016 Paris 2015
p. 137n15
Parmigianino: die Madonna in der Alten Pinakothek, Alte Pinakothek, Munich, 22 November 2007 - 24 February 2008, 2007
pp. 49-50
fig. 18 on p. 45 ...More
Gnann, Achim, Parmigianino: Die Zeichnungen, Petersberg 2007
vol. I, pp. 247, 265-66, 294 and vol. II, no. 813
ill.
Whitaker, Lucy and Martin Clayton, The Art of Italy in the Royal Collection: Renaissance and Baroque, London 2007
p. 150
Ekserdjian, David, Parmigianino, New Haven and London 2006
p. 66
The art of Parmigianino, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 3 October 2003 - 4 January 2004; The Frick Collection, New York, 27 January - 18 April 2004 New Haven 2003
p. 234
fig. 88
Fornari Schianchi, Lucia and Sylvia Ferino-Pagden, Parmigianino e il manierismo europeo: atti del Convegno internazionale di studi. Parma, 13-15 giugno 2002, Milan 2002
p. 308
Vaccaro, Mary, Parmigianino: the paintings, Turin 2002
p. 189n7
Correggio and Parmigianino: master draughtsmen of the Renaissance, British Museum, London; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2000-2001, 2000-01
cat. no. 117
ill. on p. 168
entry author M. Clayton; exh. London only
Parmigianino - Paintings, Drawings, Prints, Courtauld, London, 1987
cat. no. 26
Correggio and his legacy: sixteenth-century Emilian drawings, The National Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1984
p. 167n7
Battisti, Eugenio, 'Ecce virgo ecce habet lampedes: il Parmigianino alla Steccata' in 'Santa Maria della Steccata a Parma', Parma 1982, pp. 159-96
p. 133
Ghidiglia Quintavalle, Augusta, Gli ultimi affreschi del Parmigianino, Milan 1971
p. 136
as a copy
Popham, A. E., Catalogue of the Drawings of Parmigianino, New Haven and London 1971
vol. I, no. 770
pl. 311
Seilern, Count Antoine, Italian paintings and drawings at 56 Princes Gate, London SW7. Addenda, London 1969; V
no. 367
pl. LI
dated c. 1538 as Freedberg dated the related Turin drawing to that date
Old master drawings from the collection of Mr. C.R. Rudolf, Arts Council Gallery, London; City Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham; Leeds City Art Gallery, 1962
cat. no. 50
Drawings by Old Masters, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1953
cat. no. 50 ...Less
cat. no. 8
and on pp. 20, 28, 60, 163-66, 172
ill. on p. 69, infrared is fig. 24 on p. 71, detail on p. 162, technical images are figs. 67-71 on pp. 163-66
Parmigianino: dessins du Louvre, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 17 December 2015-15 February 2016 Paris 2015
p. 137n15
Parmigianino: die Madonna in der Alten Pinakothek, Alte Pinakothek, Munich, 22 November 2007 - 24 February 2008, 2007
pp. 49-50
fig. 18 on p. 45 ...More
Gnann, Achim, Parmigianino: Die Zeichnungen, Petersberg 2007
vol. I, pp. 247, 265-66, 294 and vol. II, no. 813
ill.
Whitaker, Lucy and Martin Clayton, The Art of Italy in the Royal Collection: Renaissance and Baroque, London 2007
p. 150
Ekserdjian, David, Parmigianino, New Haven and London 2006
p. 66
The art of Parmigianino, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 3 October 2003 - 4 January 2004; The Frick Collection, New York, 27 January - 18 April 2004 New Haven 2003
p. 234
fig. 88
Fornari Schianchi, Lucia and Sylvia Ferino-Pagden, Parmigianino e il manierismo europeo: atti del Convegno internazionale di studi. Parma, 13-15 giugno 2002, Milan 2002
p. 308
Vaccaro, Mary, Parmigianino: the paintings, Turin 2002
p. 189n7
Correggio and Parmigianino: master draughtsmen of the Renaissance, British Museum, London; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2000-2001, 2000-01
cat. no. 117
ill. on p. 168
entry author M. Clayton; exh. London only
Parmigianino - Paintings, Drawings, Prints, Courtauld, London, 1987
cat. no. 26
Correggio and his legacy: sixteenth-century Emilian drawings, The National Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1984
p. 167n7
Battisti, Eugenio, 'Ecce virgo ecce habet lampedes: il Parmigianino alla Steccata' in 'Santa Maria della Steccata a Parma', Parma 1982, pp. 159-96
p. 133
Ghidiglia Quintavalle, Augusta, Gli ultimi affreschi del Parmigianino, Milan 1971
p. 136
as a copy
Popham, A. E., Catalogue of the Drawings of Parmigianino, New Haven and London 1971
vol. I, no. 770
pl. 311
Seilern, Count Antoine, Italian paintings and drawings at 56 Princes Gate, London SW7. Addenda, London 1969; V
no. 367
pl. LI
dated c. 1538 as Freedberg dated the related Turin drawing to that date
Old master drawings from the collection of Mr. C.R. Rudolf, Arts Council Gallery, London; City Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham; Leeds City Art Gallery, 1962
cat. no. 50
Drawings by Old Masters, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1953
cat. no. 50 ...Less
Inscriptions
Watermark: Watermark: centre: possibly a “V” shape but unable to discern clearly through support.
Collector's mark: none.
Inscription: Mount (historic), Recto: lower centre, brown ink: "Parmesan."; lower left, graphite, modern hand: "See Pa[...] / cf. Parmigianino's Paintings"; lower right, graphite, same modern hand: "One of the several designs for the / Coronation of the Virgin [...] Steccata CB".
Collector's mark: none.
Inscription: Mount (historic), Recto: lower centre, brown ink: "Parmesan."; lower left, graphite, modern hand: "See Pa[...] / cf. Parmigianino's Paintings"; lower right, graphite, same modern hand: "One of the several designs for the / Coronation of the Virgin [...] Steccata CB".
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