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Hubert François Gravelot
1699-1773
Headpiece for Canto I of Alessandro Tassoni's "Secchia rapita"
ca. 1766
Pen and ink and pencil on paper, mounted on paper backing.
5 5/16 x 3 3/8 inches (134 x 87 mm)
Bequest of Gordon N. Ray, 1987.
2003.22:1
Notes:
Gravelot's design is preparatory for a decorative headpiece for the opening of Canto I (p. 1) of an edition of Alessandro Tassoni's “Secchia rapita” (“The Stolen Bucket”), published in Paris by L. Prault and P. Durand in 1766. Tassoni's mock-heroic poem, originally published in Paris in 1622, blends the construct of an epic with an absurd premise: a 14th century war between Modena and Bologna was actually caused by the Modenese stealing a bucket from Bologna.
Provenance:
From the library of Gordon N. Ray.
Associated names:
Ray, Gordon Norton, 1915-1986, former owner.
Bibliography:
Kraemer, Ruth S. "Drawings by Gravelot for Alessandro Tassoni's mock-heroic poem La secchia rapita." Master drawings, XXVIII (Autumn 1990), p. 338-343, no. 1.
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