Attributed to Alessandro Vellutello

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Right Half of Purgatorio, Canti I, II, III, IV, IX: Right Section of Mountain Surrounded by the Sea and the Sun at Top; Sun and Sign of the Zodiac (Capricorn?) at Lower Right; In the Center, Round Hole Through Which Virgil and Dante Leave Inferno; Virgil Washes Dante's Face to Purify Him Before Entering the Purgatorio; Virgil and Dante Climb up the Mountain Through a Narrow Passage; Meeting with Belacqua; They Ascend Further Up the Mountain; St. Lucy Carries the Sleeping Dante to the Gates of Paradise?

Pen and brown ink on paper.

8 1/8 x 11 inches (207 x 280 mm)

Gift of Mr. H.P. Kraus.

1966.12:11

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Notes:

Watermark: none.
This sheet and the preceding one, 1966.12:10, once formed a single sheet, of which this is the right half.
Formerly attributed to Italian School, 16th cent.

Inscription:

Inscribed by the artist, in pen and brown ink, at top center, "mezogiorno"; on the left, throughout, labelling the figures, "V[ergil]; D[ante]; S[ordello]; belacqua"; on the mountain, following the curve, "p[rim]a [a superscript] spezie di neglige[n]ti"; to the right of this, "3a [a superscript] spezie di negligenti / cantano Miserere(?; or Misereor) et nel passar di dante / facendo ombra mutav[an]o(?) il canto in rauco"; at lower right, "Levasi(?) / il sol che / fiamegia"; along lower edge, at left, in black ink, "Virgo [o superscript] ...ca...caminando del camin[o] la [s?]ente et da man sinistra vede venire l'anime et va alla volta loro, et Dante trova manfredi et parla seco: et [gne?] insegnato il camino et passa inanzi aloro, et entra [...] nel / foro del sas[so]".

Provenance:

J. I. Davis, London; H. P. Kraus (1907-1988), Vienna and New York, by whom presented to the Pierpont Morgan Library in 1966.

Associated names:

Anonymous, Italian School, 16th cent., Formerly attributed to.
Davis, J. Irving, 1889-1967, former owner.
Kraus, Hans Peter, 1907-1988, former owner.
Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321, Divina Commedia.

Bibliography:

Rhoda Eitel-Porter, "Drawings for the Woodcut Illustrations to Alessandro Vellutello's 1544 Commentary on Dante's Comedia", Print Quarterly, XXXVI, March 2019, pp. 3-17
Matthew Collins, "The Forgotten Morgan Dante Drawings, Their Influence on the Marcolini Commedia of 1544, and Their Place within a Visually-Driven Discourse on Dante's Poem," Dante Studies 136 (2018): 93-132.
Lamberto Donati, "Commento ad una serie di disegni del XVI secolo illustranti la Divina Commedia", La Bibliofilia, LXV, 1963.
Adams, Frederick B., Jr., ed. Fifteenth Report to the Fellows of the Pierpont Morgan Library, 1967 & 1968. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1969, p. 91-92.
Pierpont Morgan Library. Review of Acquisitions, 1949-1968. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1969, p. 150.

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Vellutello, Alessandro

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