(1712-1793) Christ on the cross (Crucifixion), pen and brown ink, grey wash, on laid paper, a study of two figures in pencil on the reverse, 12 x 10,5 cm, browned, somewhat stained, mounted, unframed, (Sch)

Provenance:
Private collection, Italy.

With the copy of a certificate by Prof. Ugo Ruggeri. Literature:
Comp. Antonio Morassi, Guardi: I dipinti, Vol. II, Venice 1993, Cat. 177, Fig. 127, Fig. 205; Luigi Dania, "Unpublished Drawings by Francesco Guardi in Private Collections", in: Master Drawings, 1973, No 4, pp. 2383-2386, Pl. 389).

According to Professor Ruggeri the present drawing with a study for the figure of Christ on the cross, surrounded by Saint Mary, Saint Mary Magdalene, and the sister of Mary, the mother of Christ and wife of Klopas may be a preliminary study for the painting “Crucifixion” (c. 1740-1750) in the E. G. Bührle Collection in Zurich (comp. Morassi 1993, Cat. 177). The figure group around Christ was extended with four figures in the painting; the low horizon and the low vantage point are, however, identical with the drawing. The present drawing resembles a study for a Pietà in the Museo Civico di Bassano, which is a preliminary drawing for a painting of the same subject in a private collection in Milan (see Morassi 1993, Fig. 205). The painting in Milan and the one in the Bührle Collection are stylistically comparable. Both paintings may have been executed at around the same time from 1740 to 1750. Another comparable drawing with the study for a Crucifixion is kept in the Museo Correr di Venezia (Morassi 1993, Vol. II, Fig. 127), and yet another one for a Crucifixion with Saint Mary and Saint John the Baptist are preserved in an Italian private collection (comp. Cania 1973, No 4, pp. 2383-2386, Pl. 389).