Barocci Exhibition Catalogue

8/12/2019 Barocci Exhibition Catalogue

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Judih W. Mann and Babete BohnWih Carol Plazzota

Sain Louis Ar Museum

Yale Universiy Press, New Haven and London

FEDERICO BARORenaissance Master of Color and


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finished small caroon he ever produced. Tis drawing onocher-colored paper, which corresponds precisely o he paining(fig. and ca. ), is ruly a caroncino per il chiaroscuro,sudyinghe play o ligh and dark perhaps more han any subsequen workby Barocci. Te aris employed a iny brush o creae fine sria-ions in whie heighening hroughou he shee, expressing hedramaic play o ligh across every orm in he composiion.

Barocci probably used his work boh as a preparaory sudyand as a presenaion drawing, o obain his parons approval orhe design. Alhough no aris beore Barocci had made caroncini

per il chiaroscuro,finished presenaion drawings were commonin Ialian workshop pracice rom a leas he fifeenh cenury.I makes sense ha he incepion o Baroccis innovaive drawingype was rooed in a radiional caegory o drawing ha wouldhave been amiliar o any Ialian painer. Te consisenly careul

Fig. 36. Cartoncino per il chiaroscuro for the Circumcision,1590. Black chalk and pen and brown in k with brown wash heightened with white,

squared in black chalk, on brown paper, laid down, 43.5 x 58.5 cm. Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi, Florence, i nv. 818 E.

Fig. 37. Cartoncino per il chiaroscuro for the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple,15931603. Black

brown wash heightened with white and gray body color with some touches of pink, 39.6 x 33

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Woodner Collection, Gift of Andrea Woodner, inv.

finish o he Uffizi drawing, which would soon be modifiedin laer caroncini,seems closely linked o earlier Ialian presena-ion drawings.

During he fifeenh and sixeenh cenuries, presenaiondrawings, or modelli,were someimes required by parons whowished o approve he design beore he ari s began paining. In, or example, he Florenine paron Giovanni ornabuonisipulaed in his conrac wih Domenico Ghirlandaio ha hewould need o approve composiional drawings beore Ghirlandaiopained his rescoes in Sana Maria Novella.Someimes presen-

aion drawings were submited o he paron o secure he com-mission in he firs place, a probable incepion or BenozzoGozzolis sudy or oilas Assaul on Perugiao abou (fig.).Because such modelliwere inended o provide he paronwih a clear idea o he design, hey were generally deailed and


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La Madonna del Gato (Te Madonna o he

TeMadonna del Gato,he only easel paining

by Barocci in a Briish public collecion, was

among he firs picures o ener he Naional

Gallery afer is oundaion in . Compara-

ble in scale and mood o he Res on he Reurn

fom Egyp (ca. ), he Madonna del Gatois

among he mos delighul and engaging o all

Baroccis devoional picures. I shows he Holy

Family in an amosphere o cozy domesiciy,waching i n amusemen as he Inan Bapis

eases he household ca ha gi ves he paining

is name. Giovanni Piero Bellori reerred o

he picure as a scherzo(a playul piece), aply

emphasizing is ligh-heared spiri.Indeed, in

he animaed warmh o he gahering, i is easy

o lose sigh o he picures more serious devo-

ional messagehe anicipaion o Chriss

uure sacrifice. Insead, he close-up view, he

amiliar domesic environmen, and he pro-

agoniss cheerul expressions combine o cre-

ae an amosphere o relaxed inimacy ha has

direc appeal. Te our figures are graceully

arranged in a suble diagonal rising rom he ca

in he botom-lef corner, heir limbs creaing a

complex inerplay o movemen orward and

backward in space. Te d elicae sumao blush

ha caresses heir aces, limbs, fingers, and oesepiomizes Sir Joshua Reynoldss observaion

(quoing Pluarch) ha Baroccis figures look

as i hey ed upon roses, a qualiy, along wih

a perceived irreverence in he subjec, no uni-

versally avored afer he painings acquisiion

by he Naional Gallery. Te paining hus

emerged rom almos complee scholarly obscu-

riy only in he s, wih research published

by Harald Olsen and Cecil Gould, reinorced

by is loan o he pioneering monographic show

held in Bologna in .

Te scene is se in he bedchamber o a

Renaissance palace. Trough a doorway in he

background, rom which a green curain is

drawn back, an open window reveals a wili

sky, he glow o he seting sun refleced on he

elegan sone window sea and he lef-handwall. Seaed on a low sool, wih her legs sreched

ou and ee comorably crossed, he Virgin

breaseeds he Chris Child. She has recenly

lifed him rom his wicker co, or he bedcover

is urned back and a silk pillow rimmed wih

gold bears he imprin o his head. Her wicker

workbaske in he oreground conains a nar-

row whie cloh sreched over an embroidery

cushion, a larger cloh, and a small book wih a

gold-embossed leaher binding, is pages alling

open o reveal an engraved ronispiece. Te

young moher cradles her baby o h er breas

while embracing Sain John, perched on hesool alongside her. Seadying himsel agains

he Virgins knee and insincively cluching his

cousins chubby oo, he playully holds up an

alarmed goldfinch, promping he ca o si up

on is haunches and lif is nose in he birds

direcion. Chris pauses rom suckling o wach

as direced by his mohers gesuring hand. Sup-

poring himsel on a low able, Sain Joseph

leans over Marys shoulder o enjoy h e scene.

Bellori noed ha Barocci pained he pic-

ure or Anonio Brancaleoni (ca. /),

who was coun o Piobbico, a smal l sronghold

sraddling a sraegic mounain pass abou

weny miles wes o Urbino; he al so menioned

ha Brancaleoni commissioned a version in dis-

emper o heRes on he Reurn fom Egyp(see

ca. and fig. ) or his parish church.Belloris

reliabiliy in respec o he later is unproblem-aic, since he paining remains in siu in Sano

Seano in Piobbico.Hihero, however, here

was no oher inormaion o suppor his associ-

aion o he Madonna del Gatowih Brancale-

oni. A newly discovered documen recording

he picures presence in he Perugian palace o

Brancaleonis granddaugher in confirms

ha Bellori was correc abou he Naional Gal-

lery picure. We shall see ha he painings

dae, coinciding wih he creaion o splendid

new aparmens in Brancaleonis palace, as well

as is subjec and appearance, offer much ur-

her corroboraion o he couns paronage.

Despie his commission o wo such beau-

iul works rom he aris in he mid-s, he

ineresing figure o Coun Anonio II Branca-

leoni has received litle atenion in he Baroccilieraure. His birhdae is unknown, bu he

was probably born around /. Like his

orebears, he ook up arms rom a young age

and was a alened horseman, fighing in many

wars, includ

, he ma

he exiled

nardo Capp

had been l

()

insrumen

and who co

dowry.

Bebore Anon

sons and a

As he elde

Brancaleon

Piobbico in

by he rival

Anonio him

murderous

ily and erri

Urbino rep

and confis

quickly res

a he Della

Barocc

Brancaleon

medieval v

small hill. I

Guido di Ahad ranso

dence ino

model o h

and ally, Du

Anonio, h

he nex si

decorae h

exacly o

re-esablish

Urbino (se

ings can be

palace exe

consor wi

nobile(mai

ace o his d

ral salone,

coun and decoraed w

and Roman

wih a priva

lished wih

CAT. .La Madonna del Gatto(The Madonna of the Cat), ca. 157576. Oil on canvas, 44 x 36 in. (112.7 x 92.7 cm). The National Gallery, London, inv. NG29


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150 ( )

able as a bird. A leas one sudy or his

legs survives.

Barocci worked exremely hard o achieve

he beauiul, ender expressions o he our

proagoniss in he picure. He probably pre-

pared individual sudies in colored chalks or

all he heads, bu only hose or he Virgin and

Chris Child are exan. Tere are a leas

hree sudies or he head o he Virgin.

Among he mos ehereal o all Baroccis head

sudies is a shee rom Windsor (ca. .), which

appears a once sublimely idealized and

remarkably lielike.I is conceivable ha he

head was a lie sudy o a younggarzone.From

his, Barocci made an inermediae sudy ha

ocuses more on he variaions in he pink and

whie skin ones o he ace and, given heredrawn eyes, he specific angle and placemen

o he head as well.He mus have made his

sudy wih he oher one a hand, or hey are

idenical in scale and racionally larger han

ee reveal ha he sill remained uncerain o

hese elemens (areas ha he coninued o

modiy even when he came o pain he pic-

ure).Afer setling on he Virgins quie com-

plex, bu picorially pleasing pose, he hen

proceeded o sudy he all o he drapery over

her ousreched legs; a leas hree such sudies

survive.In each o hese, he arrangemen o

he drapery is slighly differen as Barocci

adjused i o his saisacion.

Several chalk sudies or he wo children

survive. A shee in he Uffizi conains sudies

o he Bapiss head and lef arm and righ arm-

pi, along wih passages o drapery. Anoher

shee in he Uffizi conains a quick black chalk

skech or he raised righ arm, he bird denoed

cursorily wih only a ew rapid loops.

In abeauiul drawing in hree chalks in Berlin,

Barocci sudied his arm again in more

deail, also skeching he Bapiss righ hand,

holding a more deailed animal now recogniz-

el any discomor; and, by slighly urning

hem here and here, hey would find heir

mos comorable atiude. In his way, he

experimened in finding he mos naural and

leas affeced movemens o he figure, and he

would make his skeches rom hese.Exacly

such a process is eviden in Baroccis sudies or

he Virgin. Having esablished her conrap-

poso pose, wih he upper body acing righ

and he lower body urned o he lef, he pro-

ceeded o explore he posiion o her legs, firs

having hem slighly apar, hen crossed righ

over lef (fig. ), finally setling on a lef-over-

righ pose, as in ca. .. In hi s elegan drawing,

Barocci made effecive use o he yellow paper

as a midone or he hached shadows and

whie chalk highlighs. He did no boh er odevelop he lef orearm, knowing ha i would

be concealed by he baby. Bu penimeni in he

figures righ hand (poining a a black chalk

squiggle ha mus sand or he ca) and in heCAT. ..Study for the Virgin. Red and white chalk with some black chalk on yellow paper, 7 x 6 in.

Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, inv. KdZ 20140 (4156)

Fig. 62. Compositional study.Black, white, and red chalk on blue paper,

21.3 x 16.9 cm. Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi,

Florence, inv. 11555 F. recto

Fig. 63. Nude figure studies. Red and black chalk heightened

with white on blue paper, 24.7 x 19.5 cm. Kupferstichkabinett,

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, inv. KdZ 20526 (4451) verso


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Gato(his

erminus an

ion (ca.

by Barocci

ion being

no known

ino direc

( a

sayed in

engravings unil h

where he

Baroccis

Girolamo M

Only one drawing remains o be discussed:

a suble ricordo in he Briish Museum (ca.

.), drawn on he back o a shee o wo red

chalk skeches or he Virgins poining finger.

Barocci made he ricordo as a model or Cor

().I was long hough o be a copy,

bu, despie is abraded condiion, is qualiy is

such ha scholars now righly consider i auo-

graph. Barocci had probably made a similar

model drawing or Cor afer a version o heRes on he Reurn fom Eg yp,rom which he

prinmaker produced a beauiul engraving in

he same orienaion as he picure, daed

(see ca. ). Cor engraved he Madonna del

or which here are sudies on our shees. Te

gesure began lie as a poining index finger

wih he oher fingers closed. He made several

deail drawings a his sage bu in subsequen

sudies began o unurl he oher fingers, end-

ing up paining he hand wih he palm open.

In a drawing in he Uffizi, wih six differen

sudies or he hand similar o he final posi-

ion, Barocci narrowed his ocus even more

o perec he posiion o he humb. Telarge number o sudies or he Virgins hand (a

leas eleven on our shees) underscores he

imporance o her gesure or he picures

inerpreaion.CAT. ..Compositional study for Cornelis Corts Madonna del Gatto print(recto). Black and red chalk, heightened with white,

some outlines incised, squared by incision. [Verso: Three studies for the Virgins right hand. Red chalk],

12 x 9 in. (30.6 x 23.9 cm). The British Museum, London, inv. 1994,0514.55

CAT. ..Cornelis Cort after Barocci, La Madonna del Gatto, State II,1577. Engraving, 13 x 9 in. (3

Inscribed at bottom: Di. Greg. PP.xiij ex Privil.p. an. X. Corneli. Cort fec. 1577. Inscribed in lowe

Ludit Joannes, tacitus miratur . / Utriusq notat symbolu uterq parens, / Ille refert hominem paradis

Quam ferat hic pulso jam meditatur opem. / Fedricus Barotius Urbinensis Inventor. The British Museum,

Documents

Barocci Exhibition Catalogue