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Study of a herm

Maker

(artist)
1503-1540

Title

Study of a herm

Date of Production

1524-1526

Medium

red chalk on laid paper; now laid down on Japanese tissue

Dimensions

Height: 18.4 cm
Width: 7.6 cm

Accession Number

D.1978.PG.95

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

Parmigianino arrived in Rome from his native Parma in 1524 and this lively design probably dates from the beginning of his Roman period. The sketchy yet elegantly stylised treatment of the satyr’s hair is typical of the artist’s draughtsmanship. The satyr is presented as a herm, a form of sculpture first developed in ancient Greece. In this design, probably a first thought for a garden sculpture, Parmigianino adapted the classical tradition by drawing upon the association of satyrs with half-tamed nature.

Provenance

probably Pierre Crozat, Paris (1665-1740), L.3612 (at lower right; however this Crozat number "147" is also found on a Barocci drawing in the Hamburger Kunsthalle, inv. no. 21057, and a G. Romano drawing in the Louvre, inv. 3780); likely his estate sale, Mariette (Paris), 10 April - 13 May 1741 (though not included in Bernadette Py's online catalogue of drawings in Crozat's 1741 catalogue, lots 348-373 comprised over 100 Parmigianino drawings, only a handful of which she was able to identify); Lily Fröhlich-Bum, London (1886-1981), by 1956 (when published by her); purchased from her by Colnaghi (London), 22 November 1957; purchased there by Count Antoine Seilern, London (1901-1978), 27 November 1957 (£130); Princes Gate Bequest 1978

Exhibition History

Drawings Gallery Display - The Art of Experiment: Parmigianino at The Courtauld, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/05/2022-06/05/2022

Special Display - Renaissance drawings, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 29/01/2009-20/05/2009

Parmigianino - Paintings, Drawings, Prints, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 14/05/1987-12/07/1987

Literature

The Art of Experiment: Parmigianino at The Courtauld, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 2022
cat. no. 13
and on p. 16
ill. on p. 91

Turner, James Grantham, Eros Visible: Art, Sexuality and Antiquity in Renaissance Italy, New Haven and London: Yale University Press 2017
p. 178
fig. 3.44
dated c. 1523?

Parmigianino: dessins du Louvre, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 17 December 2015-15 February 2016 Paris 2015
p. 19
fig. 6 on p. 19
speculates this is a self-portrait ...More

Gnann, Achim, Parmigianino: Die Zeichnungen, Petersberg 2007
vol. II, no. 341
ill.
dated around beginning of his Roman period

Parmigianino - Paintings, Drawings, Prints, Courtauld, London, 1987
cat. no. 12

Popham, A. E., Catalogue of the Drawings of Parmigianino, New Haven and London 1971
no. 763
pl. 269
dated to his Roman period

Seilern, Count Antoine, Italian paintings and drawings at 56 Princes Gate, London, SW7, London 1959; II
no. 95
pl. LIII
dated c. 1523-25

Fröhlich-Bum, Lily, 'Sul Parmigianino' in 'Parma per l'arte', Jan.-Apr. 1956 - pp. 9-10; Anno VI, Fasc. 1
p. 10
fig. 2 (detail)
as in a private collection (hers!) ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Collector's mark: Recto, lower right corner: probably Pierre Crozat (L.3612).

Inscription: Recto: lower right corner, brown ink, Crozat number (?): "147" [however, the same number appears on both a drawing by Baroccio at the Hamburger Kunsthalle - their inv. no. 21057 - and a Romano drawing at the Louvre - their inv. 3780]. Former backing sheet (removed in 1987 and now in object file), Verso: lower centre, graphite, Colnaghi number: “A.22407”.

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