Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries
Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries
Vincenzo Leonardi
A crowned whole and half Citrus Fruit
Auction Closed
July 6, 10:38 AM GMT
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Vincenzo Leonardi
Rome 1589 - 1657
A crowned whole and half Citrus Fruit
Watercolour and gouache over black chalk;
inscribed, in pen and brown ink, with lettering, lower right of whole fruit: Z and lower right of half fruit: AA
470 by 260 mm
by descent to his brother, Carlo Antonio dal Pozzo,
by descent to his son, Gabriele dal Pozzo,
by descent to his son, Cosimo Antonio dal Pozzo,
by whom sold to Pope Clement XI, 1703,
thence by descent to Cardinal Alessandro Albani, 1714,
from whom acquired by James Adam for King George II, 1762,
sold from the Royal Library, Windsor, early 1920s;
Peter Wilson Esq., London,
by descent to the present owner
The present drawing is not only aesthetically pleasing but provides a fascinating insight into the history of collecting. The drawing once belonged to perhaps the most revered art patron of the 17th Century, Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588-1657). Cassiano's thirst for knowledge in the field of antiquities and natural history led to an ambitious project that he described as his Museo Cartaceo ('Paper Museum'). Together with his younger brother, Carlo Antonio (1606-1689), he built an immense collection of paintings, books, medals and drawings, and commissioned young artists to make drawings recording all aspects of Roman Civilization and the entire natural world. The resultant albums containing thousands of exceptional drawings and watercolours, of antique cameos, minerals, exotic birds, deformed fruits, and so much more, were one of the wonders of their time. Some of the albums remain intact, in the Royal Collection, the British Library and elsewhere, while others have been dispersed.
Vincenzo Leonardi, a pupil of Antonio Tempesta, collaborated for many years with Cassiano del Pozzo. Leonardi's illustrations of Citrus Fruits were engraved by Cornelis Bloemaert for inclusion in Giovanni Battista Ferrari's book, Hesperides, published in Rome in 1646.1
1. For an account of Cassiano dal Pozzo's collections of drawings of citrus fruits, see D. Freedberg and E. Baldini, The Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo: A Catalogue Raisonné, Part One - Citrus Fruit, London 1997