Attributed to Alessandro Vellutello

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Attributed to Alessandro Vellutello
Left Half of Purgatorio, Canti I-II, III: Left Section of the Mountain and Beach Surrounded by the Sea, with the Sun and the Heavenly Steersman on the Ship of Souls at Upper Left and Cato Speaking to the Souls on the Beach; Virgil Picks Reeds with which he Crowns Dante; They Meet Casella, Who Embraces Dante; They Meet Manfred
Pen and brown ink on paper.
8 1/8 x 11 inches (207 x 280 mm)
Gift of Mr. H.P. Kraus.
1966.12:10

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Notes: 

This sheet and the following one, 1966.12:11, once formed a single sheet, of which this is the left half.
Formerly attributed to Italian School, 16th cent.

Inscription: 

Inscribed by the artist, in pen and brown ink, at upper left, "hostia(?)"; to the right of this, an illegible inscription; at center, on the beach, "cantano In exitu Isdrael de [Aegypt]o"; below this, "casella"; throughout, labelling the figures, "V[ergil]; D[ante]; catone uticense [i.e. Cato from Utica] / apparisce et / ripren[de] quest anime / di negligenza anche / non noncuranza(?; or tormente)"; at right, "manfredi"; at lower right, "manfredi era biondo e bello e di gentile aspetto [...]"; in black ink, "una ferita /"; in brown ink, "a sommo il petto vicino alla fontanella. Et [...]"; in black ink, "uno decig' /"; in brown ink, "da un colpo".
Watermark: Letter "M" in shield, fragment.

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. 14.
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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