(Bologna 1560-1609 Rom) Landscape with a big tree, a shepherd and his flock in the foreground, pen and brown ink, on laid paper, 20,2, x 27,3 cm, mounted, framed, (Sch)

Provenance: Collection Max Aaron Goldstein (1870-1941), St. Louis, USA (Lugt 2824); Private Collection, France.

With a certificate by Dr. Nicholas Turner, 17th July 2013.

Literature: compare: C. Loisel, Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts Graphiques, Inventaire Général des Dessins Italiens, VII, Ludovico, Agostino, Annibale Carracci, Paris 2004, p. 298–99, No. 733; Drawn to Excellence. Renaissance to Romantic Drawings from a Private Collection, Exh. Cat. Smith College Museum or Art, Northampton, Massachusetts, September 2012 - January 2013, No. 33; The Drawings of Annibale Carracci, Exh. Cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, September 1999 - January 2000, p. 288–89, No. 95.

According to Dr. Nicholas Turner the attribution to Annibale Carracci is without doubt. Not long ago the drawing was considered a work by Agostino Carracci. In comparison to his brother Annibale, Agostino did not achieve the same degree of technical perfection and artistic quality in his landscape drawings. On the basis of the powerful and expressive lines Mr. Turner suggests a dating of the drawing to the artist’s Roman period around 1600. The composition as well as the technical execution refer to Venetian landscape drawing of the 16th century, whose pioneers Titian (c. 1488/1490–1576) and Domenico Campagnola (c. 1500–1564) had the greatest impact influence on Annibale. This can be demonstrated in the present sheet. For our draftsman the application of brown and black wash for highlighting the contrasts was less customary. Like the Venetian artists of this time Annibale executed his landscapes with pen and brown ink and applied hatchings or parallel lines to render half tones and subtle transitions from light to dark.

Several drawings which Annibale executed in his Roman period around 1600 are quite similarly structured in regard of technique and composition. The center of these drawings is mainly determined by a big tree or a group of trees. The background remains vaguely indicated by a view of the surrounding landscape; figural motifs in the foreground make the scene lively. A comparable composition with a similar juxtaposition of figure and landscape can be noticed in the drawing „Landscape with a shepherd and cows“ in the Département des Arts Graphiques, Musée du Louvre (Inv. 7450, compare Loisel 2004, No. 733). Even though the drawing in the Louvre seems to be executed with less detail and sketchier than the present drawing the arrangement of the figures and the open pictorial space, which is reaching into the background, are apparently consistent in the two drawings.

The depiction of the refined foliage and the branches of the tree clearly reveal the virtuous drawing style of Annibale. The vigour of the vegetation and its dominating contrast to the surrounding landscape make Annibale the founder of Italian landscape drawing. In his times the development of the genre was still in its formative phase. A private collection in New York (compare: Exh. Cat. Massachusetts 2012, No. 33) preserves one of most beautiful nature studies ( „Study of a Tree“ ) by Annibale whose virtuous execution of the tree parallels the one in our sheet. The cascade of rythmic curlicues which indicate the leaves, the small circles which represent the nodules on the tree trunk or the holes, in which birds built their nests, the powerful parallel hatchings which emphasize the dark areas and the strongly accentuated lines, which describe the shaded contours of the tree trunk, are identical in both sheets.

There is a decisive difference between the New York sheet and the present one. More than in any other drawing Annibale has succeeded in the present drawing to conduct a feeling for the weather and the atmosphere of the scenery. Light clouds mingle with dark clouds and announce the arrival of a thunderstorm above the mountains in the background at the upper left margin.The dark and somewhat lower situated clouds enfold the mountain in the far distance on the right side of the landscape. Contrary to the present sheet the „Study of a Tree“ and apart from the delicate indication of some clouds that sheet is a mere nature study where Annibale completely abandoned an atmospheric rendering of the landscape. Only later in his metaphysic landscape studies, as for example in the „Landscape with the rising sun“ in the British Museum (Inv. 1972–7–22–13, compare Exh. Cat. Washington 1999, Cat. 95, S. 288–89) Annibale reaches a successful integration in the surrounding sky of the landscape and the constantly changing atmosphere.

With the harmonious synthesis of classical depiction of nature and the description of a moving and changing atmosphere Annibale contributed decisively to the development of Italian landscape drawing. In this he was influential for follwing generations far beyond the 18th century.

Provenance: Collection Max Aaron Goldstein (1870-1941), St. Louis, USA (Lugt 2824); Private Collection, France.

With a certificate by Dr. Nicholas Turner, 17th July 2013.

Literature: compare: C. Loisel, Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts Graphiques, Inventaire Général des Dessins Italiens, VII, Ludovico, Agostino, Annibale Carracci, Paris 2004, p. 298–99, No. 733; Drawn to Excellence. Renaissance to Romantic Drawings from a Private Collection, Exh. Cat. Smith College Museum or Art, Northampton, Massachusetts, September 2012 - January 2013, No. 33; The Drawings of Annibale Carracci, Exh. Cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, September 1999 - January 2000, p. 288–89, No. 95.

According to Dr. Nicholas Turner the attribution to Annibale Carracci is without doubt. Not long ago the drawing was considered a work by Agostino Carracci. In comparison to his brother Annibale, Agostino did not achieve the same degree of technical perfection and artistic quality in his landscape drawings. On the basis of the powerful and expressive lines Mr. Turner suggests a dating of the drawing to the artist’s Roman period around 1600. The composition as well as the technical execution refer to Venetian landscape drawing of the 16th century, whose pioneers Titian (c. 1488/1490–1576) and Domenico Campagnola (c. 1500–1564) had the greatest impact influence on Annibale. This can be demonstrated in the present sheet. For our draftsman the application of brown and black wash for highlighting the contrasts was less customary. Like the Venetian artists of this time Annibale executed his landscapes with pen and brown ink and applied hatchings or parallel lines to render half tones and subtle transitions from light to dark. Several drawings which Annibale executed in his Roman period around 1600 are quite similarly structured in regard of technique and composition. The center of these drawings is mainly determined by a big tree or a group of trees. The background remains vaguely indicated by a view of the surrounding landscape; figural motifs in the foreground make the scene lively. A comparable composition with a similar juxtaposition of figure and landscape can be noticed in the drawing „Landscape with a shepherd and cows“ in the Département des Arts Graphiques, Musée du Louvre (Inv. 7450, compare Loisel 2004, No. 733). Even though the drawing in the Louvre seems to be executed with less detail and sketchier than the present drawing the arrangement of the figures and the open pictorial space, which is reaching into the background, are apparently consistent in the two drawings. The depiction of the refined foliage and the branches of the tree clearly reveal the virtuous drawing style of Annibale. The vigour of the vegetation and its dominating contrast to the surrounding landscape make Annibale the founder of Italian landscape drawing. In his times the development of the genre was still in its formative phase. A private collection in New York (compare: Exh. Cat. Massachusetts 2012, No. 33) preserves one of most beautiful nature studies ( „Study of a Tree“ ) by Annibale whose virtuous execution of the tree parallels the one in our sheet. The cascade of rythmic curlicues which indicate the leaves, the small circles which represent the nodules on the tree trunk or the holes, in which birds built their nests, the powerful parallel hatchings which emphasize the dark areas and the strongly accentuated lines, which describe the shaded contours of the tree trunk, are identical in both sheets. There is a decisive difference between the New York sheet and the present one. More than in any other drawing Annibale has succeeded in the present drawing to conduct a feeling for the weather and the atmosphere of the scenery. Light clouds mingle with dark clouds and announce the arrival of a thunderstorm above the mountains in the background at the upper left margin.The dark and somewhat lower situated clouds enfold the mountain in the far distance on the right side of the landscape. Contrary to the present sheet the „Study of a Tree“ and apart from the delicate indication of some clouds that sheet is a mere nature study where Annibale completely abandoned an atmospheric rendering of the landscape. Only later in his metaphysic landscape studies, as for example in the „Landscape with the rising sun“ in the British Museum (Inv. 1972–7–22–13, compare Exh. Cat. Washington 1999, Cat. 95, S. 288–89) Annibale reaches a successful integration in the surrounding sky of the landscape and the constantly changing atmosphere. With the harmonious synthesis of classical depiction of nature and the description of a moving and changing atmosphere Annibale contributed decisively to the development of Italian landscape drawing. In this he was influential for follwing generations far beyond the 18th century.