A New Sketch-Book by Filippo JuvarraAuthor(s): Sarah McPheeSource: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 135, No. 1082 (May, 1993), pp. 346-350Published by: The Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/885633 .

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49. Studyfor thefigure of Christ, by Carlo Dolci. Black chalk. 31 by 22.9 cm. (Mus6e du Louvre, Paris).

50. Christ and the woman of Samaria with afemale saint, by the circle of Carlo Dolci. (Art market, Florence, 1984).

monk and of the Virgin are virtually identical with the equivalent figures in Dolci's painting, while the two putti are replaced in the latter by a second friar and what may have been a portrait head of a donor. Is it possible that Dolci's well-known aversion to inventing multi-figure compositions led him to revert to a

compositional idea of his master's, interpreting it with minor variations? Additional photographs of the intact altar-piece at Cobham, while too blurred to show further detail, reveal the monk's right arm in a position identical with that in the Vignali drawing.

A drawing in the Cabinet des Dessins of the Louvre (Fig.49) which bears a secure attribution to Dolci has been connected by the present writer with a picture which passed through the Florentine art market in 1984, and is here reproduced for the first time (Fig.50).9 Catherine Monbeig-Goguel has kindly drawn my attention to the existence on the verso of the Louvre drawing of a study apparently for the right hand of Christ.'0 The subject of the painting, Christ and the woman of Samaria with a female saint is most unusual, and Baldinucci's Notizie makes no mention of such a theme. In the painting, the difference in handling and

quality between the seated Christ and the other figures is striking. While the pose, facial type and detail of Christ in the painting are consistent with Dolci's manner, nothing in the other figures suggests any personal connexion whatever with the artist. As the style of the drawing suggests that it dates from early in Dolci's career,I" it seems unlikely that the painting was left unfinished at his death and completed by another hand. The possibility of his having used an early drawing at the end of his life is also re- mote. The fact that the figure of Christ in the painting conforms more closely to the artist's manner than its companions might also suggest that the Oxford drawing may have been used by another artist in his creation of this composition.

The details of the figure of Christ in the painting corresponds almost exactly with the drawing, except that the position of the head as painted is less characteristic of Dolci than the drawing's slightly sentimental angle. Paradoxically, because of the exist- ence of this autograph drawing, the painting becomes a greater mystery.

9Gc. McCORQUODALE, in II Seicento Fiorentino, exh.cat., Palazzo Strozzi, Florence [1986-87], Biografie volume, p.83. The painting was sold at Casa d'Asta Pandol- fini, Florence, 9th October 1984, lot 297. '0This is visible only through the sheet from the recto. " Its handling should be compared with that of a drawing in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, showing a Young man with an open book (McCORQUODALE; 'A Fresh Look at Carlo Dolci', Apollo, 135 [1973], fig.2, p.479), which is dateable to around 1640. The painting to which the latter appears connected, if not preparatory, a so-called Portrait of a young poet, was with Christie's, New York (Important Old Master Paintings), 14thJanuary 1993, lot 139.

A new sketch-book by Filippo Juvarra* BY SARAH McPHEE

THE anonymous biographer of Filippo Juvarra relates that, after entering the studio of Carlo Fontana, the young architect was sent to draw the monuments of Rome. The author adds that Juvarra left no good doorway or window in the city un-

drawn.1 I have recently identified an unpublished manuscript

*I would like to thankJoseph Connors, Henry Millon and Linda Pellecchia for sharing insights and offering suggestions during the preparation of this note. 'Vita del cavaliere don Filippo Juvarra Abbate di Selve e Primo architetto di

S. M. di Sardegna. Scritta da anonimo e pubblicata da Adamo Rossi', in V. VIALE: Filippo Juvarra. Architetto e Scenografo. Messina [1966], p.22:'... e tomato don Filippo allo studio, s'informo della sua capacita il Fontana, e conoscendo esser gia archi- tetto, e che non era per altro venuto in Roma, che per perfezionarsi, lo mand6 a disegnare in Campidoglio le cose di Michelangiolo, oltre le quali egli non lascid ni porta ne finestra che fosse di buono in Roma che non le disegnasse'.

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53. Escutcheon with the emblem of the Accademia di San Luca, by Filippo Juvarra. c. 1704-09. Black chalk and brown ink, with yellow and grey wash, 20.2 by 13.7 cm. (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome.)

51. Landscapeframed by herms andputti, by FilippoJuvarra. c.1704-09. Black chalk and brown ink, with grey wash, 20.2 by 13.7 cm.

(Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome).

in the Vatican Library that confirms the words of the Anony- mous Life, and adds 172 images to the corpus of early Juvarra drawings.2 The 129 folios of the Vatican album do indeed

present a cornucopia of windows and doorways among an array of images that chronicle the architect's early interest in the monuments of baroque Rome. It also contains what may be some ofJuvarra's earliest known drawings.

Drawings after Borromini, Bernini and Cortona predominate, with long runs and even entire signatures devoted to studies from buildings such as the Palazzo Falconieri (fols. 11 r-14r), the Palazzo Barberini (fols. 15r-20r), and the Casa dei Filippini (fols.32v-39r; fols.45v-50r). Among them are occasional studies for wall tombs, flaming urns, andirons, capitals, iron-work grilles, fresco and stucco designs (Fig.51). The primary focus of the sketch-book, however, is the architectural ornament of the great seventeenth-century buildings, with a marked emphasis on the work of Francesco Borromini.

The album includes only two drawings after the antique (fols.5r-v; Fig.52) and presents relatively few new projects and little of the architectural fantasy for which Juvarra is known. The quality of the drawings is uneven, extremely refined images being interspersed with sketches that border on the crude. Some

drawings have the finish of the mature Juvarra, others have been scratched out by the artist and abandoned. Turning the

pages, one has the sense of holding the primer of a self-taught architect, who has set himself the task of systematically recording the characteristics of the great architects of seventeenth-century Rome.

'Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Vaticano latino 13295. I am pre- paring a full publication of the entire album.

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SHORTER NOTICES

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54. Elevation ofa palacefafade, by Filippo juvarra. ? 1704. Black chalk brown ink, with grey wash,

....... 20.2 by 13.7 cm. (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome).

55. Escutcheon of Clement IX Rospigliosifrom the 'Raccolta di varie targhe. .', by Filippouvarra. c. 1723. Engraving, 17.9 by 12.4 cm. (American Academy in Rome).

56. Escutcheon of Clement IX Rospigliosi, by Filippo Juvarra. c. 1704-09. Black chalk and brown ink, with grey wash, 20.2 by 13.7 cm. (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome).

'1

. ..... : 57. Escutcheon of Urban VIII Barberini from the' Raccolta

de varie targhe.. .', by FilippoJuvarra. c. 1723.

(American Academy in Rome).

58. Escutcheon of Urban VIII from the mainfafade of the

Palazzo Barberini, by Filippojuvarra. c.1704-09.

-•-: :i!Black chalk and brown ink, with grey wash,

S.20.2

by 13.7 cm. (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana,

.. .. . •; i :::- _ -iii:: ::: :~: 1

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60. Escutcheon of Innocent X Pamphilifrom the nave of S. Giovanni in Laterno, by Filippojuvarra. c. 1704-09. Black chalk and brown ink, with grey wash, 20.2 by 13.7 cm. (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome). C- 0 xi:'

.......... .

L 59. Doorwayfrom Borromini's Palazzo Falconieri, by FilippoJuvarra. c. 1704-09.

61. Angels lifting the arms ofAlexander VII Chigi, by Filippo juvarra. c. 1704-09. Black chalk and brown ink, with grey wash, 20.2 by 13.7 cm. Black chalk and brown ink, with grey wash, 20.2 by 13.7 cm.

(Bibliotcca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome). (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome).

Most of the album's folios measure 20.2 by 13.7 cm., and the sheets appear to have been bound and numbered by Juvarra himself. Though in poor condition, the volume retains its original binding. The signatures range in number from four to eight folios and the weight of the paper varies from a heavy stock to the finest writing paper. Some of the images have been cut down for the purposes of binding, and folios 3, 113, 114, 124, and 125 are missing. Tucked in between fol.26v and fol.27r is a loose sheet of paper (12.8 by 9.8 cm.) showing a northern

cityscape beside a body of water, which does not appear to be

byJuvarra's hand. Another loose sheet (14.4 by 9 cm.), this one

by Juvarra, shows studies of papal keys and has been pasted to the verso of fol.64. A third addition was made by Juvarra toward the end of the volume. There, an extra sheet, slightly larger than the normal folio size (14.7 by 20.5 cm.), has been pasted into the album between fol.97v and fol.98r. The drawing shows a wall, surmounted by the papal escutcheon of Clement XI Albani, set against a landscape. It is the only drawing in the volume with a scale; the measure is Roman palmi.

Although there are few dates in the volume, those that appear

are from the first years ofJuvarra's Roman period, suggesting that the group of drawings bound together here are among the very earliest essays of the architect." The earliest date in the sketch book, 1704, appears in the upper right-hand corner of two drawings showing alternative elevations for a palace facade (fols.108r and 109r; Fig.54); the latest, 1709, appears on a

design for a banquet in Bologna. The first image in the album, fol. 1 r (Fig.53), shows a frontispiece

with the motto of the Accademia di S. Luca, 'Aequa Potestas'. A cartouche above the impresa bears the date 1705, indicating that the book was assembled after the start ofJuvarra's relationship with the Academy. 1705 is the year that Juvarra won first prize at the Concorso Clementino, the award being conferred at the

Campidoglio on 7th May. The following year he was elected to the Academy.4 One wonders if the design included here is not a

preliminary study for a presentation piece. The Vatican album also demonstrates that Juvarra began

assembling the material for his Raccolta di varie targhe fatte da professori primarii di Roma . . ., first published in 1711, almost as soon as he arrived in Rome.5 Over forty-four drawings of es-

31It is currently thought thatJuvarra arrived in Rome from Messina in the late summer of 1704, though a recent article proposes an arrival date in October. See M.L. MYERS: Architectural and Ornament Drawings: Juvarra, Vanvitelli, the Bibiena Family, and other Italian Draughtsmen, New York [1975], pp.29-30; and T. MANFREDI: 'L'arrivo a Roma di Filippo Juvarra e l'apprendistato di Pietro Passalacqua nelle cronache domestiche di una famiglia messinese', Architettura. Storia e docu- menti, 1-2 [1989], pp. 110-11.

4On the Concorso Clementino of 1705 see, MANFREDI, loc.cit. at note 3 above, pp. 109-16. For Juvarra's early involvement with the Accademia di San Luca see, H.A. MILLON: 'Filippo Juvarra arid the Accademia di San Luca in Rome in the Early Eighteenth Century', in H. HAGER and s. MUNSHOWER, eds.: Projects and Monuments in the Period of the Roman Baroque, University Park [1984], pp. 12-24. 5For the early history of the Raccolta di varie targhefatte da professori primarii di Roma .. .., Rome, Antonio de Rossi, 1711 see MYERS, op.cit. at note 3 above, pp.32-33.

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cutcheons appear in the Vatican album. Like the engravings of the Raccolta, most of these coats of arms are shown in their

original architectural setting and many are identified. Eight escutcheons from the Vatican album can be directly related to

engravings that appear in the Raccolta. For example, a prelimin- ary study for the arms of Clement IX Rospigliosi from the

portico of St Peter's, fol.XIX in the Raccolta (Fig.55), appears on fol.65r of the Vatican sketch book (Fig.56). The Barberini arms from the arch above the Veronica niche in the crossing of St Peter's, fol.XVI in the Raccolta, are rendered in the Vatican album on fol.82r, and both volumes include the arms from the

principal facade of the Palazzo Barberini (Raccolta fol.VIII, Vatican, fol.27r; Figs.57 and 58). The escutcheon of Alexander VII from the Sala Regia (Raccolta fol.XI) corresponds with Vatican fols.87v-88r, as do the arms of the same pope from the base of the Cathedra Petri (Raccolta fol.XII, Vatican, fol.75r), and the Chigi arms from the tomb of Alexander VII (Raccolta fol.XVII, Vatican fol.29r).6

The Vatican volume has strong affinities of style and subject with other early albums ofJuvarra, such as Riserva 59.4 in the Biblioteca Nazionale, Turin, the albums in the Museo Civico of the same city, and particularly, with the album in the Metro-

politan Museum in New York.7 A sampling of parallels includes

doorways from Palazzo Falconieri (Fig.59), the Pamphili arms from the nave of S. Giovanni in Laterno (Fig.60), and the unusual Chigi escutcheon held aloft by angels from the south end of the narthex of St Peter's (Fig.61).8 In addition, all three volumes display the artist's distinctive handwriting (Fig.52) and his cryptic mode of abbreviation. Juvarra's economy transforms 'Bernini a Monte Cavallo' into 'B: Mt: C:'; 'Chiesa Nuova' becomes 'C:a N:a' and 'Invenzione Bernini' shortens to 'In: B:i'.

Finally, numerous examples of the three watermarks that Henry Millon has characterised as most typical of early Juvarra drawings, are found in the Vatican album.9

In its abundant use of wash, the Vatican volume differs from the Metropolitan album and Riserva 59.4 in Turin, though the first two stages in the technique used are identical. In all three volumes Juvarra begins with black chalk, and in some cases

graphite, and then goes over the preliminary sketch with brown ink. In the Vatican album a third medium is added, a layer of wash being frequently applied. The most common colour em-

ployed is grey in varying intensities, though there are examples of pink, blue, yellow and orange pigments as well.

The provenance of the Vatican album remains largely obscure

though internal evidence allows its history to be traced back as far as 1824. It bears the nameplate of Cardinal Francesco di Paola Cassetta and the date 1918. Cardinal Cassetta served as Prefect of the Vatican Library from 1914 until his death in

March 1919.10 The position of the volume in the fondo Vaticano latino suggests that it entered the library's collection in the years immediately following his death.

Two drawings (fols. 116v and 117r) are evidently the work of a nineteenth-century forbear of Cardinal Francesco. Both show

facade elevations of churches and both are signed in the upper right hand corner: 'Cassetta 1824'. This Cassetta's hand is also visible in fol. 119r, where he seems to have added brown ink to a

preliminary black chalk sketch by Juvarra, and to have printed his initials 'A.C.' at the foot of the image. It is likely that beneath the rather unattractive facades drawn by Cassetta there are other preliminary sketches byJuvarra. Further interventions

appear to be confined to the signature containing Cassetta's two signed drawings. But here, unfortunately, the nineteenth-

century architect applied a uniform layer of grey wash to entire folios, leaving a murky veil on several autograph drawings by Juvarra.

The two drawings signed and dated 'Cassetta 1824' suggest that the sketchbook was in the hands of the Cassetta family at least from that year. It is likely that both 'A.C.' and 'Cassetta' refer to Antonio Cassetta, Cardinal Francesco's uncle, and it must be he who owned the volume in 1824 and added the

drawings and layers of wash. Antonio Cassetta was an architect and master carpenter who, according to Gaetano Moroni, was well known for his work at St Peter's and who taught the rules and design of his trade at a school attached to the Confraternity of S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami.11

The earlier history of the album is uncertain, though fol.1 bears a clue in the form of an inscription scrawled across the

upper margin (Fig.53). There, an eighteenth-century hand has written in brown ink: 'Bibliothecae Contui Iglavien. Ord. Pred.m' which could mean that at one point the volume was in the monastic library of the Dominican order in Iglavia or Jihlava in Moravia or in the library of a Dominican establishment in Rome, which had ties toJihlava.

The Vatican album contributes 172 new images to Juvarra's drawn wuvre and greatly enriches our understanding of the Roman formation of the architect: his early style, the evolution of his technique and the masters and buildings he chose to

study.

Appendix : Parallels between Juvarra's Metropolitan and Vatican albums

MMA Vatican folio folio

Palazzo Falconieri: doorway, after Borromini 183 11 Ir- 14r

Palazzo Barberini: Barberini escutcheon, after Borromini/Bernini, main facade 165 27r

window, after Borromini, third level of main facade 170 9r

window, after Borromini, garden side 171 15r window, after Borromini/Pietro da Cortona?, garden side 171 16r

St Peter's:

Chigi escutcheon, after Bernini, portico 99 66r&67r Barberini escutcheon, tomb of Urban VIII, after Bernini 119 73r

Chigi escutcheon, tomb of Alexander VII, after Bernini 111 29r

S. Giovanni in Laterno:

Pamphili escutcheon, after Borromini, nave 117 92r&93r

Study for Emblem of the Accademia di San Luca 189 lr&2r

6Both volumes also include the Pamphili arms from the nave of S. Giovanni in Laterano (Raccolta fol.XXX, Vatican fol.92r) and those of the same pope from the nave of St Peter's (Raccolta fol.XLVI, Vatican fol.77r). 7New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund 69.655.

8Compare these images to fols. 183, 117, and 99 of the Metropolitan Museum album. See Appendix for complete list.

9They are as follows: a dove on three mounts inside a circle with the letter F

above; a circle enclosing a six-pointed star with a Latin cross above and the letter F below; and an anchor enclosed in a circle with a six-pointed star above and the letter F below. The Vatican album also includes a signature almost

uniformly composed of paper bearing a fourth watermark, noted by Millon, in the form of a large fleur-de-lys contained in a circle. See H.A. MILLON: Filippo

Juvarra. Drawingsfrom the Roman Period 1704-1714, Part I, Rome [1984], pp.xxxvii- xxxviii. 1'For Cardinal Cassetta's involvement with the Vatican Library and the history of his own books see J. BIGNAMI ODIER: La Bibliotheque Vaticane de Sixte IV a Pie XI. Richerches sur l'histoire des Collections de manuscrits, Vatican City [1973]. For the Cardinal and his family see F. VIsTALLI: II Cardinale Francesco di Paola Cassetta nella sua eta e nella sua opera, Bergamo [ 1934]. "'The Cassetta family had ties of many generations with the Confraternity of S.

Giuseppe dei Falegnami. See G. MORONI: Dizionario d'erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da San Pietrofino ai nostri giorni, Venice [1853], LXIII, pp. 109ff; see also VISTALLI,

op.cit. at note 10 above, p.2.

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