Italian School

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Italian School
16th century
Two Horses' Heads
ca. 1555-1575
Red chalk on laid paper.
3 15/16 x 5 3/4 inches (100 x 146 mm)
Gift of Hall Park McCullough..
1956.22
Description: 

While in the collection of Johann Török, and at the time of his 1928 sale, the sheet was assigned to the circle of Leonardo da Vinci.1 More recently, Paul Joannides ascribed the drawing to Giorgio Vasari, adding that it reveals the influence of Vasari’s friend Francesco Salviati (unpublished opinion recorded in the curatorial file, 2004). Alternatively, Joannides suggested a possible attribution to Francesco Morandini, called il Poppi. Both Vasari 2 and Poppi3 made comparable studies of horse heads seen from multiple angles, although these were executed in black chalk.

Footnotes:

  1. Vienna 1927, 3, no. 2 (as school of Leonardo da Vinci); American Art Association, New York 1928, lot 154 (as atelier of Leonardo da Vinci).
  2. Louvre, Paris, inv. 2757; Härb 2015, 469, no. 301.
  3. Uffizi, Florence, inv. 4283F, 4284F; Comune di Poppi 1991, 148-49, nos. 91, 92.
Notes: 

Formerly attributed to Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), circle of; Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574); Francesco Morandini, il Poppi (1544-1597).

Inscription: 

Watermark: none.

Provenance: 
August Grahl (1791-1868), Dresden (L. 1199); Dr. Ignaz Schwarz; his sale, Vienna 14-15 April 1919, lot 224; Wilhelm König (1880-1955), Vienna (Lugt S. 2653b); Bishop Johann Török (b. 1890), Nagykanizsa; his sale, New York, American Art Galleries, 7-8 November 1928, lot 154; Hall Park McCullough, New York.
Associated names: 

Anonymous, Italian School, 17th cent., Formerly attributed to.
Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519, Circle of, Formerly attributed to.
Vasari, Giorgio, 1511-1574, Formerly attributed to.
Morandini, Francesco, 1544-1597, Formerly attributed to.
Grahl, August, 1791-1868, former owner.
Schwarz, Ignaz, former owner.
König, Wilhelm, former owner.
Török, Johann, Bishop, -1892, former owner.
McCullough, Hall Park, 1872-1966, former owner.

Bibliography: 

Selected references: Vienna 1919, 25, no. 224 (as Milanese, 16th century); Vienna 1927, 3, no. 2 (as school of Leonardo da Vinci); Fellows Report 1957, 83.

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