Description: Here are a spectacular pair of Studio Drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci. Understand that "Studio of" drawings mean two different things in dealing with that of Leonardo. First, they could be exactly what they sound like, working drawings by him or his assistants laying out details for projects. They also have meaning in works that were produced by his assistants after his death, specifically Francesco Melzi. Melzi was a lifelong assistant to Leonardo who assumed his studio and it's contents after his death. Knowing that Leonardo was fairly famous in his lifetime, Melzi took advantage of this and made caricatures and copies of some of Leonardo's works and sold them to people who had interest in him or in collecting. As such, Francesco Melzi drawings are fairly commonplace and can be found around the internet from time to time as "Studio Of" drawings. These are 2 of them. It should be noted that Melzi was a regarded and trusted assistant to Leonardo and helped him create and finish several projects. In his own written words, he would sit and pen out ideas and the master would look over his shoulder and make corrections and suggestions. The grotesque caricatures found on both drawings are fairly typical of studio drawings as well, almost like doodles. Given this, I would direct you to photo 1 in the series and have you look at the rider in the hat on what is assumed to be a horse. If you look at the riders shirt you will see blotches of brown ink wash as low lights to present more of a chiaroscuro effect. Note that the ink appears to be simply smeared on as with a finger and not a brush...This type of very informal finish can be found on several of his works and it makes sense to find it here. This is one of several personality touches that can be found in these drawings, almost as if someone is looking over the artists shoulder. Make sure to know, these drawings were done by one of Leonardo's 3 assistants, and not the master. Make no mistake. These assistants would have included: Francesco Melzi, Bernardino Luini, and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio. Given the style and the accuracy of the style, I would lean more to Melzi. The other is a mechanical drawing of what appears to be a war machine of some type. It looks like a horse drawn box with scythe blades coming from it's four corners with a guiding man on a treadmill making the blades rotate (?). This is very typical of Leonardo and many versions of these types of war machines can be found in his journals in various institutions. The watermarks one either sheets are typical of sheets found on other studio drawings and date from the early 16thC. Anyway, an interesting pair of drawings and a bit of a sneak peek into the workings of Leonardo's studio without spending a fortune. The collectors marks and provenance are: Page One- John Talman (L.2462), Sir Joshua Reynolds (L. 2364), Private Sale 1950Page Two- Richard Cosway (L. 628), Private Sale 1950 While these drawings were saved by early collectors and most likely went through that early life as works by Da Vinci, their attributions have changed in more modern times. I have several institutional papers and Inventory sheets of these various collections and in an attempt to prevent 5 full written pages on provenance alone, should you wish to see them after you purchase this item, simply ask and I will forward what I have.
Price: 6490 USD
Location: Oak Park, California
End Time: 2024-10-03T19:06:17.000Z
Shipping Cost: 25 USD
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All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Type: Drawing
