Drawing, chalk, pen and ink, cartouche with Medici arms, Poccetti, 1607-1612, Florence

Drawing in chalk pen, brown ink and wash with white heightening on blue paper of an elaborate cartouche with the Medici Arms flanked by Justice and Wisdom.

Presented by Art Fund (Max Harvey Bequest)

Historical significance: Poccetti received numerous commissions from the Medici for decorations at the Palazzo Pitti and his drawings were collected for the Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici. This characteristic late work depicts allegorical figures of Justice (with a sword) and Prudence (with a mirror) flanking the Medici arms, surmounted by the grand ducal crown, above a blank cartouche. The sheet is squared off, indicating that the design was transferred for use. This composition exploits the contrast between fluid chiaroscuro and bright highlights on the mid-tone of the coloured paper to emphasise plasticity of form. Its purpose has not yet been established, but the design resembles another by Ludovico Cigoli (1559-1613). It may have been made for an architectural stemma on a façade, or more probably for a trompe l’oeil heraldic tapestry. These were produced in considerable quantity by the Medici tapestry workshop (see Lucia Meoni, Gli arazzi nei musei fiorentini. La collezione medicea, vol.1, Livorno 1998, pp.360-411). The first known owner of this drawing, the Comte d’Oultremont, acquired several albums of drawings in Tuscany including many works by Poccetti. This dramatic image is expressive of the early Baroque, and linked to a great Italian dynasty.

This drawing dates from the end of Poccetti's career. The allegorical figures of Justice (with a sword) and Prudence (with a mirror) are shown flanking the Medici arms, surmounted by the grand ducal crown, above a blank cartouche. The sheet is squared off, suggesting that the design was transferred for use. Its purpose has not yet been established. It may have been made for an architectural stemma on a facade, or more probably for a trompe l'oeil heraldic tapestry. These were produced in considerable quantity by the Medici tapestry workshop in the early seventeenth century. The first known owner of this drawing, the Comte d'Oultremont of Flanders, acquired several albums of drawings in Tuscany in the eighteenth century including many works by Poccetti. This dramatic image is expressive of the early Baroque, and linked to the great Italian dynasty of the Medici.

E.532-2008