Michele Lucchese

In the older literature it was assumed that this work had its origins in an ancient bas-relief, but in fact it is based on a lost fresco by Polidoro da Caravaggio which, according to Alberti, adorned the facade of the Casa dei Buonauguri on the Piazza Santa Chiara in Rome. The same sacrificial scene also appears on a drawing in the famous Polidoro album in the Fondation Custodia in Paris (James Byam Shaw, The Italian Drawings of the Frits Lugt Collection, Volume II Polidoro Album, Paris 1983, p. 38, fol. 58, fig. 66). This album comprises a collection of fifty-seven drawings after facade paintings by Polidoro and his assistant Maturino that was compiled in the late 16th century. While these are not Polidoro’s own drawings, the valuable collection nevertheless provides a unique overview of the artist’s decorative paintings and the wide range of themes he addressed in his work, which encompasses a multitude of subjects from the world of mythology and ancient Roman history. James Byam Shaw, notes that, contrary to Alberti’s idea, the composition reproduces the outer left-hand section of the lost Niobid frieze on the facade of the Palazzo Milesi in Rome that Polidoro created in 1526. 

Lucchese has depicted the scene using a rudimentary, precise, highly economical engraving technique that radiates a remarkable spontaneity. The untreated white paper spots produce a shimmering luminous effect and imbue the classical scene with transparency and lightness. Compared to the extremely free and lively style apparent in the drawing from the Polidoro album, Lucchese’s work is more static and monumental in its approach. Nagler noted that the engraving is very rare. We were able to establish just five other impressions: in the British Museum in London; the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung in Munich; the Biblioteca Palatina – Raccolta Ortalli in Parma; the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica in Rome; and the Escorial, Real Colleción de Estampas, in Spain. A very fine, inky and contrasting impression with wide margins on three sides, with a narrow margin on the left. Minor ageing, slightly stained and discoloured, a brown ink spot in the bottom white margin, otherwise in perfect, unrestored condition.

12.000 €