Live Auction 17420Old Masters/New Scholars: Works of Art Sold to Benefit Rugby School
Italian School, mid 16th Century
Lot 25

Italian School, mid 16th Century

A male nude in a contorted pose

Closed4 December 2018

Price Realised

GBP 81,250

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Italian School, mid 16th Century
A male nude in a contorted pose
with inscription 'Il Ladron cativo/ di Michelagnolo Bonaroti in Mantua 1582'
black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown wash, the corners cut and the right edge cut around the inscription
10 7/8 x 8¼ in. (27.8 x 20.9 cm)

John Bouverie, Delapré Abbey, near Northampton (1722/1723-1750) (L. 325).
John Watkins Brett, London (1805-1863); Christie's, 8 April 1864, lot 526, 'M.Angelo. A falling figure, in the Last Judgment - Indian ink' (illustrated in the catalogue, £1 to Bloxam).
M.H. Bloxam, by whom given to Rugby School Art Museum.

Specialist note

Perhaps a copy after one of the thieves in an unidentified Cruxifixion scene, as the inscription suggests, the present drawing is characterised by a sculptural definition of the body, subtly modelled with passages of wash. The reference to a ‘bad thief’ by Michelangelo might refer to a bronze group […] based upon a drawing by Michelangelo in the Teylers Museum, alternatively attributed to Annibale Fontana or Guglielmo della Porta and based upon a drawing by Michelangelo.