Attributed to Alessandro Vellutello

Download image:

Purgatorio, Canti IX-X: Section of the Mountain, with Sun on the Right and Half Moon to the Left; Lucia Carries the Sleeping Dante Up to the Next Rim of the Mountain; Dante Kneels Before the Angel-Gatekeeper, Who Guards the Door of Purgatory; Penitential Climb Through a Narrow Cleft in the Rock to Arrive Where the Mountain Falls Back to the Open Above

Pen and brown ink on paper.

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

Gift of Mr. H.P. Kraus.

1966.12:13

Zoom image

Download verso image:

218562v_0002.jpg

Notes:

Watermark: none.
This drawing probably represents only the left part of a larger composition.
Formerly attributed to Italian School, 16th cent.

Inscription:

Inscribed by the artist, in pen and brown ink, at upper center, "Prima cornice / e di larghezza quanto 3 huomini"; in upper right corner "[pur]ga[tori]o (?)"; below this, "[...] dante piu / d'un ora nel salire / questo fesso [...] / di pietra [in?] che ne che / prio' lo st[a]vano li[...] / luna ri unec al letto / suo p[er][...]rca si ve(?) / noi fussimo fuor di quella / cruna"; below this, "[P]orta del / purgatorio; below this, La soglia di diama[n]te; 3o [o superscript] scaglio[ne][di]... / porfido; 2o [o superscript] scaglione[di] / pietra bigia screpolata / lo lungo orudida (?); primo scaglione di / marmo bianco"; throughout, labelling the figures, "V[ergil]; D[ante]; Lucia; Lucia"; at lower edge, in black ink, "L'angelo fa...[...]...", in brown ink, "...nta con la punta della spada poi si rizza l'angelo et si alza la sopravesta(?) di estor(?) di cenere et cavati 2. chiave, una d'oro et l'altra d'argento. Poi con esse apre la porta. et virg [...] / in black ink, nel aprire q[...], in brown ink, ... [con]duce a ... in strepito(?) il quale pareva(?) di suono, et con esso suono noive(?) cantare Te deum laudamus accompagnando il canto con il suono di Lutaporta(?)".

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, fig. 16.
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.

Catalog link:

See more information »

Artist page:

Vellutello, Alessandro

School:

Century:

Classification:

Department: