(Arpino 1568–1640)
Study of a trumpeter, c. 1597, black chalk on laid paper, 10 x 12,2 cm, numbered “216.” in pen and brown ink, laid down to old laid paper, mounted, unframed, (Sch)

Provenance:
Collection Giancarlo Sestieri, Rome.

Literature:
Herwarth Röttgen, Il Cavalier Giuseppe Cesari d’Arpino. Un grande pittore nello splendore della fama e nell’incostanza della fortuna, Rome 2002, p. 76, 77, pp. 304-308, Cats. 65-67, 67a-q; H. Röttgen, Cavalier Giuseppe Cesari d’Arpino. Die Zeichnungen II, Die großen Aufträge 1587/94 – 1605, Opus Magnum Stuttgart 2013, p. 310, No 330.

In regard of its complex composition and the gigantic dimensions the monumental fresco „The battle of the Romans against the Vejer” in the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome is one of the most important if not the most significant masterpiece in the oeuvre of Giuseppe Cesari, called Il Cavalier d’Arpino. The artist had prepared the complex composition with numerous drawings and sketches of single warriors and horses (Röttgen 2002, Cat. 67a-q). Moreover, in the course of the fresco’s conception also two bozzetti in oil on canvas were created. Today they are preserved in the Galleria Borghese in Rome (Inv. 391) and in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen (Inv 82.16.1) (Röttgen 2002, Kat. 65, 66). Contrary to the modello in Rome which differs from the final composition, the oil sketch in Caen is identical with the finished fresco except for the left side. The present study of a trumpeter may have also been executed in preparation of the fresco, possibly for one of the trumpeters on the left side of the composition. The study is published in the second volume of the monograph dedicated to the artist by Herwarth Röttgen which was published in 2013 (No. 330). Compared to the other studies including the warriors mentioned by Röttgen (Röttgen 2002, Cat. 67a-q), the present sketch is somewhat smaller; however, for stylistic reasons as well as in regard of the motif, the present sheet can be definitely connected with the fresco in the Palazzo dei Conservatori.

We are grateful to Prof. Dr. Herwarth Röttgen for the scientific support.

© Bologna, Zeri Photo Archive, Inv. 30109