Federico ZUCCARO (Sant'Angelo in Vado, 1542/43 - Ancona, 1609) Decorative project

Federico ZUCCARO
(Sant'Angelo in Vado, 1542/43 - Ancona, 1609)

Decorative project

Pen and brown ink wash

170 x 210 mm

Provenance: Private collection, Paris
Comparative bibliography: James Mundy, Federico Zuccari's nvisible architecture, in Der Maler Federico Zuccari Ein römischer Virtuoso von Europaïschem Ruhm; Actes du congrès international, Bibliothèque Herziana, Rome et Florence, February 23-26, 1993, München 1999, pp. 27-41

This drawing is a study for an unidentified secular decoration. The focus here is on a section divided into two superimposed registers: The first features an oval cartouche flanked by two putti, depicting a nude young woman, seen from behind, lying in a landscape. On either side of the putti, shields edged in leather may feature coats of arms. The lower frieze depicts a nude figure tied to a tree (Marsyas? an ithyphallic satyr surprising a nymph or a maenad making a gesture of defense.
The graphic style seems characteristic of Federico Zuccaro's style.
We would like to thank Mr. Marco Simone Bolzoni for his help in drafting this notice.