Live Auction 8029Old Master & Early British Drawings & Watercolours
Italian School, circa 1450-1470
Lot 1 Please note that all lots are sold framed unless stated otherwise.

Italian School, circa 1450-1470

The Good Thief: study of a male nude for a Crucifixion

Closed5 July 2011

Price Realised

GBP 49,250

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Italian School, circa 1450-1470
The Good Thief: study of a male nude for a Crucifixion
with ink number '13.3' (below the feet) and with further ink number 'No 226.'
metalpoint, charcoal, heightened with white, on prepared green-grey paper (originally blue), irregular
7 1/8 x 5½ in. (18 x 14 cm.) (at largest point)

Specialist note

The present drawing is a study for a figure in a Crucifixion, probably that of the Good Thief. Executed in the delicate and highly precise technique of metalpoint, which is characteristic of early Italian drawings, the work may be dated circa 1450-1470. The taut draughtsmanship, elongated limbs and carefully delineated musculature suggest a North Italian origin for the artist. Similarities have been noted with the early draughtsmanship of Luca Signorelli (1450-1523), the drawings of Niccolò Alunno (circa 1430-1502) and the paintings of Vincenzo Foppa (circa 1430-circa 1516).