A battle scene outside a walled city

Composed in a semi-circular format, this battle scene by the sculptor Giovanni Battista Foggini may relate to a commission from the Florentine Medici court for a series of elaborate silver plates.

At some point, the drawing was divided, with both halves owned by Sir Robert Witt. Witt only bequeathed the left-hand half to The Courtauld. The right-hand portion of the sheet appeared on the market in 2018 and both halves are here reunited for the first time.

Developed in a semi-circular format, this lively battle scene was executed by Florentine draughtsman and sculptor Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652-1725). The drawing constitutes the right section of a larger design, the other half of which is in The Courtauld Gallery’s collection (D.1952.RW.3586). Both sheets are of similar size and are annotated 'Foggini' in the upper corners. Foggini was the most accomplished and successful Florentine sculptor of the late Baroque period. In 1673, he was sent by the young Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III de’ Medici, to study at the newly instituted Florentine Academy in Rome where he remained for three years. On his return from Rome, he immediately began to receive commissions for sculpture from the Medici court. A decade later he was appointed grand ducal sculptor, after the death of Ferdinando Tacca, and in 1694 he became the court architect as well. From then until his death he was chiefly employed on commissions for the Medici. Foggini supervised the grand ducal studio and foundry in Borgo Pinti, which was the centre for official bronze commissions, as well as the Galleria dei Lavori (now the Opificio delle Pietre Dure), the manufactory for works in hardstone inlay. According to the Foggini specialist Kira d’Alburquerque, A battle scene outside a walled city could be dated to Foggini's sojourn in Rome (1673-76). Alternatively, it could be linked to a commission for designs for silver plates he received from the Medici Grand Duke Cosimo III, at the time when the artist was heading the Galleria dei Lavori from 1695.

Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b; private collection, United States; Christie’s (London), 3rd July 2018, lot 27; purchased there by the Samuel Courtauld Trust

From the Baroque to Today: New Acquisitions of Works on Paper, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 23/02/2024-27/05/2024

Watermark: Watermark: Verso, left centre edge, thus possibly in the backing sheet, but too difficult to discern or identify.

Inscription: Recto: upper right corner, brown ink: “Foggini”; lower right corner, graphite: “3”. Verso (backing card): upper right corner, brown ink, cut off: “Del Fog”; upper left, blue crayon, though could just be stray marks: “11”; lower right, graphite, Witt’s hand: “Giovanni Battista Foggini”; lower left, graphite: “Joh. Bapt. Foggini”; lower centre, graphite: “V[…] 1918”; lower right, graphite, underlined: “No 10”; lower left corner, brown ink: “9311”.

Collector's mark: Verso (backing card): lower left corner, stamped in black: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).