Niccolo TRIBOLO (1500 -1550) - Project for a sculpture of an ephebe and study for a putto

Niccolo TRIBOLO
Florence, 1500 -Idem, 1550


Project for a sculpture of an ephebe recto
Study for a putto verso


Pen with brown ink on laid paper
216 x 160 mm


Provenance: Unlisted old stamp in the Lugt stamped on the right-hand side of the base; London, Peter Lely ( ) his stamp lower right Lugt 2094; London, William Esdaille ( ), his mark in the reconstructed right-hand corner Lugt 2617; France, private collection.


Niccolo Tribolo is now considered to be the most important architect of Cosimo I's time, despite his few surviving achievements. In addition to his ephemeral decorations, however, we should mention a few sculptures at Villa Petraia, in the Louvre (collection of Francis I) and the base of the fountain depicting Hercules and Antaeus. As an architect, he can be considered the inventor of Italian-style gardens, the last of which he was to design at Boboli. His influence was decisive for his successor Bernardo Buontalenti (1531-1608), who also distinguished himself in this field.
Buontalenti's drawings, often related to architectural projects such as fountains or sculptures, are among the rarest in the world and are mainly to be found in the Louvre and the British Museum. They are quickly sketched in pen and ink, and bear witness to his conceptual research.
Ours may be considered the most attractive, highly accomplished with its careful network of cross-hatching, larger format and remarkable condition.
It is probably in preparation for a sculpture, as the presence of the base suggests, and the pose, although inverted, is exactly the same as that of the putto on the sculpture commissioned by François I, the Nature Goddess, dating from 1527. The reverse bears a 16th-century annotation confirming the attribution and a few pen-and-ink attempts before the artist set about transcribing his ideas. An old label or listel affixed and initialed by Willian Esdaile in 1824 assures that the drawing came from the collection of Peter Lely and was attributed to Michelangelo, despite the older annotation.
The drawing is in very good condition, mounted in false margins and presented framed. It can be viewed on Rendez-vous in Paris. High-resolution photographs and further information are available on request. Shipping, customs and insurance are at the buyer's expense.