Santi di Tito,  Italian 1536-1603-  Study for an altarpiece: Confirmation

Lot description

Santi di Tito, Italian 1536-1603- Study for an altarpiece: Confirmation of the Order of Saint Francis; black chalk, pen and brown ink and wash on laid paper, bears number '10' (lower right), with a description of the scene in Italian and a black chalk sketch of a church interior both verso, 27.3 x 19.6 cm. Provenance: Anon. sale, Christie's, Rome, 12 November 1974, lot 25. Note: Di Tito studied under Bronzino (1503-1572) and Alessandro Allori (1535-1607) and was one of the founders of the Accademia del Disegno in Florence in 1563. He is often described as a Proto-Baroque painter, with his approach revealing something of a departure from the more stylised and exaggerated forms of the Mannerist movement. His pupils also went on to become prominent early proponents of the Baroque style, including Ludovico Cardi (1559-1613), known as 'Cigoli', and the sculptor Francesco Mochi (1580-1654). Di Tito's other pupils Domenico Passignano (1559-1638) and Gregorio Pagani (1559 -1605) each painted compositions that appear to closely relate to the present drawing, notably Pagani's 'lunette' fresco of Pope Honorius III approving the Order of St Dominic at the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, which shows the lasting influence of Di Tito's style on the works of the next generation of artists. Di Tito completed a number of significant commissions including two altarpieces for the Santa Croce in Florence, and works for the Studiolo of Francesco I in the Palazzo Vecchio, also in Florence. The present work, a design for an altar reredos, appears to depict the moment in which Pope Innocent III (1161-1216) approved the statutes of the Order of the Franciscans, presented by Saint Francis (c.1181-1226), leading to the foundation of the Franciscan Order in 1210. The fluidly drawn figures and simple, confidently rendered architecture recall further drawings by Di Tito, such as a preparatory sketch for his 'Nebuchadnezzar' fresco cycle (illustrated S. L. Giovannoni and M. Collareta, 'Disegni di Santi di Tito', 1985, no.7734F. Fig.1), which Di Tito painted at the Palazzetto del Belvedere of Innocent VIII Cibo, now the Gregorian Etruscan Museum, Vatican City. Another drawing which shows distinct similarities to the present lot, particularly in terms of the handling of the 'agitated' draperies as well as the treatment of the hands and the facial features, is Di Tito's study of the 'Agony in the Garden' which was published in W. M. Griswold and L. Wolk-Simon, 'Sixteenth Century Italian Drawings in New York Collections', Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, 1994, cat.31, p.36. We are grateful to Professor Elizabeth Pilliod for her assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.