VICENTE CARDUCHO
(Florence ca. 1576 – 1638 Madrid)

Study of a Franciscan Saint, probably San Diego de Alcalá

Pen and ink on green paper with wash and white heightening
8 x 4 inches (20.3 x 10.2 cm)

Provenance:

Ivan E. Phillips, Montreal and New York, until 2023.

The brothers Bartolomé Carducho and Vicente Carducho, both born and trained in Florence, settled in Spain where they made their careers. Vicente worked on numerous commissions for both the church and the Spanish court in Castile. Vicente was appointed to the position of Pintor del Rey—painter to the king—in 1609, although he also worked on religious commissions during this time.

 Carducho was a talented draughtsman, and his drawings are rare on the art market. Ours is inscribed in the upper right “2Rl” in a hand and following a formula (with a number followed by Rl or Rs) commonly found on Carducho’s works.[1] The drawing depicts a tonsured Franciscan with knotted chord contemplating a crucifix. It may represent San Diego de Alcalá, who Carducho depicted in an altarpiece for in the church of San Diego in Valladolid (Fig. 1).

[1] Álvaro Pascual Chenel and Ángel Rodríguez Rebollo, Vicente Carducho: Dibujos: Catálogo Razonado, Madrid, 2015, see especially pp. 70-71.