Live Auction 20906The Collection of Pierre Durand
PIETRO FANCELLI (BOLOGNA 1764-1850)
Lot 105

PIETRO FANCELLI (BOLOGNA 1764-1850)

Saint John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness

Closed27 January 2022

Estimate

USD 2,000–3,000

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PIETRO FANCELLI (BOLOGNA 1764-1850)
Saint John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness
black chalk, pen and brown ink, gray and brown wash, watermark with letter ‘H’
19 1⁄2 x 11 3⁄4 in. (48.5 x 29.7 cm)

Société historique et littéraire polonaise, Paris; Christie’s, London, 4 July 1972, no. 29.
with Seiferheld & Co., New York.
Private collection, New York.
Frederick J. Cummings (1933-1990), New York.
with Mark Brady & Co., New York (Old Master Drawings, 1990, no. 30, ill.).

Specialist note

The drawing is a study for the altarpiece Fancelli painted for the high altar of the Parish Church of the village of Minerbio, near Bologna. Dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, the original 14th Century building was rebuilt in 1732. Another sheet related to the same painting, with Saint John the Baptist preaching, was at Christie’s, London, 6 July 1993, lot 231. A large number of drawings by the artist, including the present sheet, appeared at an earlier sale in 1972 (see Provenance), lots 22-55.