(1712–1793)Crucifixion of Christ with the Three Marys, 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 property, Italy.

The present drawing with a study of the Crucifixion of Christ surrounded by the Virgin Mary, Saint Mary Magdalene and the sister of his mother, the wife of Clopas, could be a preparatory study for the painting of the Crucifixion of Christ (c. 1740-1750) in the collection E.G. Bührle in Zurich (cf. A. Morassi, Guardi. I dipinti, Milan 1993, Cat. Nr. 177, Fig. 202). The figure group around Christ was expanded in the painting and includes the figure of Saint John. The low horizon and the low viewpoint from which the figures are seen are comparable with the drawing. In addition, the present sheet also bears strong resemblances with a study for the Pietà in the Museo Civico in Bassano which is a preparatory drawing for a painting of the same subject in a private collection in Milan (Cf. Morassi 1993, I disegni, Kat. Nr. 127, Abb. 128) which in turn is stylistically comparable with the painting in the Bührle collection and may have been executed at around the same time between 1740 and 1750. Another comparable drawing with a study for a “Crucifixion” is preserved in the Museo Correr, Venice (Morassi 1993, I disegni, Cat.125, Fig. 127) and another drawing for a Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John is kept in an Italian private collection (cf. L. Dania, „Unpublished Drawings by Francesco Guardi in Private Collections“, in: Master Drawings 1973, No. 4, pp. 2383–2386, Pl. 389).