Study For A Fresco, Attributed To Francesco Penni (1488-1528)

Attributed to Francesco PENNI (1488 – 1528)
Study for a fresco

Pen and brown ink, brown wash heightened with white on prepared paper
14 x 12 cm

On the mount, handwriting inscription «Francesco Penni dit le Fattore ».
On the back, handwriting with ink « Acheté à F…/ P. Collin ».

Provenance
P. Collin, Lugt L. 454 ;
Private collection.

Note
The present drawing exhibits the graphic elegance of Penni. Born in Florence, Penni entered Raphael's workshop at an early age and collaborated with him on several works, including the famous Rooms of the Vatican Palace, as well as the frescoes of the Villa Farnesina. After Raphael's untimely death, Penni worked with Giulio Romano on completing projects such as the Hall of Constantine, the Transfiguration, the Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin (1525) at Monteluce, and the Palazzo Te in Mantua. Penni also provided designs for the tapestries of the Life of Christ for Pope Clement VII for the decoration of the Sala del Consistoro in the Vatican. In 1526, he left Rome and joined Giulio Romano, who had arrived in Mantua in 1524. According to Vasari, he was not well-received in Mantua (although he worked with Giulio Romano on the fresco of the Palazzo Te) and then began a long journey to Naples via Lombardy and Rome. He died in Naples in 1528.