Mid-16th Century Tuscan School C.1550-90

This highly accomplished Renaissance drawing depicts Christ resurrected after his Crucifixion and before his Ascension. The iconography is conveyed by Christ’s right hand raised in benediction and the fluttering banner of the Resurrection (with cross indicated) held in his left hand. The visionary intent of the artist is demonstrated in the sole focus on the full-length figure of Christ within a shallow niche framed by winged cherubs’ heads and the placing of Christ’s feet on clouds. The clouds impinge the lower ledge of the niche, and llusionistically project Christ into the viewer’s space. The fact that this drawing issues from the hand of a skilled Italian Renaissance artist is demonstrated in the fluent technique: deft strokes of the pen delineate the contours of Christ’s body and his billowing shroud, applied over wash. The initial sketch was likely provided by now indiscernible incisions or black chalk. The framing lines and the pole of the banner were drawn with a straight edge, and the arched frame by a compass. Light falls conventionally from upper left to right, bare paper providing highlights. The varieties of handling add to the vibrancy of the drawing, from the flicks of Christ’s hair and beard (combined with the short lines of his halo) to the sweeping curve of the drapery under Christ’s raised right arm, which contrast with the tousled folds of drapery below. The artist applied strokes of the pen highly loaded with ink in a second moment, causing small blots where the pen stroke is arrested. The individuality of our artist is further suggested by the focus on Christ’s knees. It is interesting to consider the destination of this drawing (Renaissance artists worked to order and would rarely put pen to paper without a commission). The illusion of the clouds demonstrates that the destination is two rather than three dimensional; the appearance of Christ tightly fitted within the inner frame suggests that the frame was likely drawn first, the composition adapted to the frame. This is further intimated by the way in which the banner touches the cherub’s head to the upper right, and  the spacing of the three cherubs on the right edge adjusted in relation to the left. Could this have been a design for a banner whose frame was to be supplied by a separate artist? Religious banners were frequently carried in procession in the Renaissance. This composition would also work as a design for an altarpiece, although the solution of the clouds would need adaptation. The inscription to Federico Zuccaro (c.1542-1609) may be apocryphal but it is nevertheless an indication of the esteem with which our drawing was held - and it correctly places the work as by a mid-sixteenth century artist of Tuscan training - a description that would include Sienese artists (there is a slightly more Sienese than Florentine flavour to the sketch). Drawings such as the Adoration of the Magiin the British Museum (inv. no. 1933,1014.19) and others in pen and ink and wash by Zuccaro, provide interesting points of comparison. In summation, our drawing is a virtuoso example of Renaissance draughtsmanship that reveals the mind of an accomplished Tuscan Renaissance artist at work. Pen and ink and wash over stylus, 120mm x 180 mm Later inscribed to bottom edge in pen and ink: F Zuccaro Provenance: Private collection Arizona, USA, until August 2025 Condition: fine quality, buff-coloured paper with a horizontal crease to the lower left Dimensions sheet: 120 x 180mm Framed dimensions: 340 x 390mm