FRANCESCO MAFFEI
(Vicenza 1605 – 1660 Padua)

Study of a Nude Man

Pen and brown ink with brown wash on paper
7 ¾ x 4 ¾ inches (19.7 x 12.1 cm)

 

Provenance:  

John Barnard, London (Lugt 1419) or possibly Saint John Dent, London and Milton (Lugt 1438)

Unidentified collector’s mark “W,” lower left of the mount (Lugt 2591a)

Private Collection, USA.

This expressive and boldly executed drawing is a work by Francesco Maffei, recently identified as such by Rick Scorza (written opinion). Despite his provincial training in his native Vicenza, Maffei is known for the complexity of his artistic sources and inspiration. Although a fully Baroque artist, his technique and style recalls and builds upon the giants of Venetian art of previous generations. Maffei was heavily influenced by Veronese and Tintoretto, to whom this drawing had traditionally been attributed. A residence in Venice in the late 1630s, where he came into direct contact with Santo Peranda, Johann Liss, Domenico Fetti, and Bernardo Strozzi, had a further impact on his development.

Our drawing stands out for its spontaneous handling, as Maffei fully exploits the dynamics of the pen and of wash. The lines are vigorous and the figure animated, combining to create a wonderfully dynamic figure. The figure is placed close to the pictorial plane, with the bottom of his foot visible, as if he is about to step out of the drawing. The position of the figure finds a close counterpart in Maffei’s Justice in the Museo Civico in Vicenza (Fig. 1).

Black and white image of an artwork by Maffei. Allegory of Justice represented by a nude male figure, seated, looking upwards.

Fig. 1. Francesco Maffei, Justice, Museo Civico, Vicenza.

In the 19th century, our drawing was paired with a similar work by Maffei, which appeared at Dorotheum in 2009 (Fig. 2).[i] The two drawings seem to have passed through several subsequent collections together. Both drawings retain related but unidentified inscriptions on the reverse—ours “Horenville No 150” and the Dorotheum drawing “Horenville No 151” (likely an unidentified collector’s inscription). In addition to being mounted in the same manner same, they also share old inscriptions attributing the drawings to Jacopo Tintoretto.

 
Nude male figure. Seated and guarding his head with his arms. of a

Fig. 2. Francesco Maffei, Study of a Man, pen and ink with wash on paper, 19.7 x 12.2 cm, formerly Dorotheum, Vienna, 5 March 2009, lot 83.

 

[i] Dorotheum gave the provenance of their drawing as follows: John Barnard, London (according to an inscription on the reverse); Florenville (or Horenville?), no. 151 (not in Lugt); Dr. Barry Delany, Kilkenny Ireland (Lug 350); his sale, Sotheby’s, London, 5 June 1872, lot 166 or 167 (both lots containing large series of Italian drawings); both lots bought by Parsons; anonymous collector’s stamp W (likely Lugt 2581a).