Live Auction 5688Old Master & Early British Drawings and Watercolours
Giovanni Battista Franco, il Semolei (Venice circa 1510-1561)
Lot 4

Giovanni Battista Franco, il Semolei (Venice circa 1510-1561)

Jupiter and Ganymede

Closed3 July 2012

Price Realised

GBP 10,000

Considering selling a similar item?

Discover its value with a complimentary estimate from our specialists.

More Information

How to sell

Giovanni Battista Franco, il Semolei (Venice circa 1510-1561)
Jupiter and Ganymede
pen and brown ink, brown wash, heightened with white, on brown washed paper
6¾ x 4¼ in. (17.2 x 10.7 cm.)

Anonymous sale; Piasa, Paris, 22 March 2006, lot 12.
with Jean-Luc Baroni, London, where acquired by the present owner.

Specialist note

Although inspired by Raphael's depiction of Jupiter and Cupid in the Loggia of the Villa Farnesina, the present drawing reinterprets the relationship between the figures and removes the boy's wings, suggesting that it shows Jupiter with his cup-bearer Ganymede.

We are grateful to Dr Anne Varick Lauder for confirming the attribution on examination of the original.