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Lot Essay
The technique and style of this drawing are typical of Penni's draftmanship. It can be compared, for example, especially for the fine white heightening, round eyes and physiognomy of the putti, to Daedalus building the cow for Pasiphae in the Uffizzi (exh. cat. Roma e lo stile classico di Raffaello, Mantua, 1999, no. 193) and to Putti playing with swans in the Louvre (op. cit., no. 194) both related to Raphael's studio work in the Villa Madama, Rome, between 1520 and 1525.
The composition is related to a lost Madonna and Child by Raphael, executed circa 1511-12, known through an engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi (Fig. 1; Bartsch, XIV, p. 53, no. 47).
The inscription 'Andrea Salernitani' refers to Neapolitan artist Andrea Sabatini da Salerno (1480-1530) who is known to have worked alongside Penni. At least three paintings by Andrea are known. His large altarpiece of the Madonna di Costantinopoli in the Museo Diocesano of Salerno shows the Madonna and Child on clouds with angels in a very similar, although reversed, position.
The composition is related to a lost Madonna and Child by Raphael, executed circa 1511-12, known through an engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi (Fig. 1; Bartsch, XIV, p. 53, no. 47).
The inscription 'Andrea Salernitani' refers to Neapolitan artist Andrea Sabatini da Salerno (1480-1530) who is known to have worked alongside Penni. At least three paintings by Andrea are known. His large altarpiece of the Madonna di Costantinopoli in the Museo Diocesano of Salerno shows the Madonna and Child on clouds with angels in a very similar, although reversed, position.