Old Master Drawings Early 14thC Giotto Di Bondone And Duccio Di Buoninsegna

Description: Here are 2 incredibly rare, possibly unique, drawings by 2 of the most venerated artists of the early renaissance. By venerated, it is meant they were venerated by their peers. In Giotto’s case, he is considered now, as then as the father of the renaissance. He changed the style and appearance of art forever. As can be seen, his understanding of perspective is beginning to morph into something closer to how we understand it today. Thereby paving the way for Brunelleschi to finally put meaning to it. You can look at works by artists such as Cimabue that preceded him, and then look at the works that followed his….the difference is striking. I have taken a few photos to help better understand them. I have done just about everything in my power with photography to help clean the photos up to something more representative of reality, however, I remain unresolved. At any rate, I have these and many others, and can take whatever you like in addition, simply ask. Where did they come from? They were in the center of the signature of a medieval "diary" that was kept by a bishop from Treviso. He kept his thoughts and memories in the book and used many of his own art works to illustrate the stories. No doubt he had been a scribe, or someone similar. The diary was kept from 1308 through 1313, with a notation at the end by a later hand in 1328. The book was purchased in the 1960’s as a water damaged mess. Many of the handmade sketches inside survived to a degree along with these. These did in fact survive, however, it is important to note that the paper is a bit macerated in places along the edges, and down the center. It is unclear whether these works were bound in the book, or were somewhat rotted by the damp, they were later joined at the center. Not much was cut out though, as the drawing and the watermarks match perfectly. It is important to understand that at this time, paper was a brand new phenomenon and there was exactly 1 paper manufactory in Italy….Fabriano. It is noted in the diary portion that the Bishop had given both of these artists sheets of paper and these are what he retained. I have no idea whether they were acquaintances, friends, or just passing through. It is unclear whether there are others, but there were none in the book. He did remark in his comments that neither artist liked drawing on it, they considered it "unmanageable". It is unclear whether these sheets had any kind of sizing in them. I have tried to look at the history and at that time, some sheets were sized, others were not. It is not known whether Fabriano did or not. At any rate, by looking closely with a glass, you can see that both artists struggled with the ink sinking into the paper. It is particularly evident in the wash areas. As a note, one of the biggest shortcomings of the photos is the lack of detail in the shadow/wash areas. The photos wash out any lighter colors in these areas and make the shadows look much simpler than they are. These drawings are actually quite rich in their construction, I wish they could present as such. There is a touch of pink wash to them, again, I hate to guess whether this was applied at the time, or was a result of the damp. When they were joined, they were bolstered to prevent further rot. As such, they seem to be in relatively strong condition now. The images being as good as could be expected….highly visible. The surface is filthy. In my opinion, they should not be touched. They are very old I consider it patina. Each sheet roughly measures 30 x 22 cm. Each sheet is attached to a passè partout mount in a 5 page polyptych of 4-ply museum board. Please let me know any questions or requests that you may have. ***The shipping that I have stated is overnight anywhere in the contiguous states, worldwide will be more, PLEASE ENQUIRE ABOUT WORLDWIDE RATES BEFORE HAND!!!!!*******

Price: 300000 USD

Location: Oak Park, California

End Time: 2024-08-04T22:00:01.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD