Open IIIF manifest What is IIIF IIIF viewers

Man seated with his arms raised, viewed from behind

Maker

Attributed to
(artist)
1560-1635

Formerly attributed to
(artist)
1519-1594

Title

Medium

charcoal, a few touches of white chalk and thick black ink framing lines on blue faded laid paper (examined under microscope)

Dimensions

Height: 27.1 cm
Width: 19.5 cm

Accession Number

D.1978.PG.369

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

Domenico was trained in the workshop of his father Jacopo, and adopted his use of blue paper for figure studies. This sheet now has a brown tone, but the edges reveal its original colour. They were protected by a mount and remained undamaged by light. Other environmental factors such as exposure to humidity, heat or pollutants can also speed up the deterioration of the blue colour.

The contrast between how the back of the sheet appears compared to the front demonstrates how dramatically the colour of blue paper can change over time. As there is no drawing on the verso side of the paper, there was no reason to display it, thus affording it more protection.

Blue paper was most commonly coloured with indigotin, which is derived from woad and indigo plants. This colourant is more resistant than other blue pigments to the chemicals used in the papermaking process.

Provenance

Colnaghi (London), December 1937 (when exhibited there); Sir Thomas Barlow, Manchester (1883-1964); Dr Francis Springell (1898-1974) and his wife, Portinscale, Cumbria, England, by 1959 (when exhibited by Colnaghi as in their possession); their sale, Sotheby’s (London), 28 June 1962, lot 23; purchased there by Colnaghi (London) on behalf of Count Antoine Seilern, London (1901-1978) (£2,200); Princes Gate Bequest 1978

Exhibition History

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

Tintoretto: Artist of Renaissance Venice, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and Fondazione Musei Civici, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 07/09/2018-07/07/2019

Tintoretto 500th Anniversary, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 01/09/2018-31/12/2018; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 24/03/2019-30/06/2019; Accademia, Venice, 01/09/2018-31/12/2018 ...More

Mantegna to Cezanne - Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 24/02/1983-19/06/1983

Loan exhibition of drawings by old masters from the collection of Dr. & Mrs. Francis Springell, Colnaghi, London, 15/10/1959-11/11/1959

Drawings by Old Masters, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1953

Old Master drawings, Colnaghi, London, December 1937-January 1938 ...Less

Literature

Echols, Robert and Ilchman, Frederick, Tintoretto: Artist of Renaissance Venice, exh.cat. (National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Fondazione Musei Civici, Palazzo Ducale, Venice), New Haven and London: Yale Univeristy Press, 2018
pp. 181, 183, 261
fig. 162 on p. 181
exhibited in Venice only, as by Jacopo, a study for the San Severo Crucifixion

Rearick, William R., Il disegno veneziano del Cinquecento, 2001
pp. 120-21, 219n151
ill. on p. 121

Rearick, William R., “From Drawing to Painting: The Role of Disegno in the Tintoretto Shop.” In Rossi and Puppi 1996, 1996
p. 177n9 ...More

Mantegna to Cezanne: Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 1983
cat. no. 36
p. 23
ill. on p. 41
as by Jacopo, dated mid-1550s

The Genius of Venice 1500-1600, Royal Academy, London, 1983-84
p. 286 under no. D62

Rossi, Paola, I disegni di Jacopo Tintoretto, corpus graphichum, Florence 1975
p. 44
fig. 53
dated 1554-55

Seilern, Count Antoine, Italian paintings and drawings at 56 Princes Gate, London SW7. Addenda, London 1969; V
no. 369
pl. LIII
as by Jacopo, dated c. 1555-60

Drawings by Old Masters, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1953
cat. no. 100

Tietze, Hans and Erica Tietze-Conrat, The drawings of the Venetian Painters in the 15th and 16th centuries, New York, 1944
no. 1706, p. 288 ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: centre: 6-pointed star above circle containing anchor (closest match is Briquet 478 - dated 1502).

Collector's mark: none.

Inscription: Verso: lower right, black chalk: two words but now faded and blue paper renders them illegible.

Information on this object may be incomplete and will be updated as research progresses. We are particularly committed to addressing any discriminatory or offensive language and ideas that might be present in our records. To help improve this record, and to enquire about images of The Courtauld Gallery Collection, please email gallery.collectionsonline@courtauld.ac.uk. Find out more about using and licensing our images.

____________________________

Buy a print from our collection