Giovanni BAGLIONE (1566 - 1643) Seated female figure

Giovanni BAGLIONE
(Rome, 1566 - 1643)

Seated female figure
About 1620

Black stone and red chalk
185 x 145 mm

Provenance: Private collection

Bibliography: Michele Nicolaci, "Un percorso per Giovanni Baglione disegnatore tra tradizione e innovazione" in Stefan Albl and Marco Simone Bolzoni (eds.), La Scintilla Divina: Il disegno a Roma tra Cinque e Seicento, Roma 2019, pp.155-156, ill. fig. 16
Comparative bibliography:
Arnaud Brejon de Lavergnée, Seicento, Paris 1988, pp. 121- 126
Maryvelma Smith O'Neil, Cavaliere Giovanni Baglione: Il modo Excellente di Disegnare, in Master Drawings, 36, 1998, pp. 355-373
Andrea Czére, New drawings by Giovanni Baglione, in Master Drawings, 36, 1998, pp. 378-395
Sonja Brink, Die Zeichnungen des Giovanni Baglione aus der Sammlung der Kunstakademie im museum kunst palast Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 2008

This sheet combining black stone and red chalk has not yet been strictly linked to a known composition, but it has been dated to around 1620 and linked by Michele Nicolacci to the famous series of Muses in Arras, painted for Ferdinand Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (1587-1626). The latter wished to obtain from Marie de Médicis the title of Altezza for prince Vincenzo, and offered the series to the queen. The paintings arrived in Paris at the end of September 1624 and were exhibited in the Luxembourg Palace, where they were admired by the court, which judged Baglione to be superior to Rubens. The series is now in the museum in Arras. The muse of the tragedy Melpomène has mysteriously disappeared. Texts mention a second series of Muses and critics are still divided on the respective chronology and fate of the two series. The female figure and the isolated composition on the page can only suggest a study more or less related to this series. The Louvre holds a pen-and-ink drawing of Thalie (RF 55312). A study for Euterpe was sold at Philipps, London, on 11 December 1991. In addition to his predilection for isolated figures, Baglione borrowed from his mentor, Giuseppe Cesari, known as the Cavalier d'Arpin (1568 - 1640), the technique of black stone combined with red chalk (Cf. the very beautiful sheet by the Cavalier d'Arpin, Persian Sibyl, kept at the Fondation Custodia - Collection Frits Lugt, inv. 3458). The physiognomy of our young woman is typical of Baglione and can be found in many of his drawings, such as the Study of an Angel in the Department of Graphic Arts at the Louvre.

Catherine Loisel, Thalie muse de la Comédie, Grande Galerie, Le Journal du Louvre, Dec. 2017/Jan/Feb. 2018, no. 42, p. 22, repr.). Catherine Loisel, Un ravissant dessin de Giovanni Baglione (1573-1644) offert au Louvre par l'intermédiaire de ses Amis, Société des Amis du Louvre, décembre 2017 - 1er trimestre 2018, p. 9, repr. Revue des Musées de France, Revue du Musée du Louvre, 2019, no. 2, Acquisitions 2016-2018, no. 77, p. 40, notice Catherine Loisel.
With studies for a Magdalene and a Lucretia on the same page. Black stone, pen and brown ink, 271 x 211 mm.
Andrea Czére, New Drawings by Giovanni Baglione, "Master Drawings," n. XXXVI; 4/1998, p. 389, fig.20