This graceful composition exhibits Taddeo's characteristically fluid line, which renders the forms at once animated, convincingly three-dimensional, and elegantly ornamental. The sheet is a preliminary study for a group of six bathing nymphs that appear on a second, more finished drawing in the Museum’s collection (acc. no. 56.219.3) featuring a circular design with Diana, goddess of hunt, and her nymphs. It has been suggested that the design was part of a projected series of majolica illustrating the activities of Diana and would have preceded Taddeo's well-known commission to design a set of majolica for the king of Spain in 1562. Taddeo's final design for this composition is recorded in a drawing at the Musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. 9030).
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Artwork Details
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Title:Group of Six Reclining Nude Women (Nymphs Bathing) (recto); Sketch of a Leg (verso)
Artist:Taddeo Zuccaro (Italian, Sant'Angelo in Vado 1529–1566 Rome)
Date:1529–66
Medium:Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, traces of red chalk (recto), red chalk (verso)
Dimensions:sheet: 4 7/8 x 4 7/8 in. (12.4 x 12.4 cm)
Classification:Drawings
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1970
Accession Number:1970.101.20
Inscription: Annotated in pen and brown ink at lower right, "Tadeo Zucchari" (possibly in the same hand as the inscription on the drawing by Romulo Cincinnato, acc. number 1970.101.1). Annotated in pen and brown ink at lower left border on verso, "Tadeo Zucharo". Annotated in graphite at right border on verso, "Tad. Zuccaro/1529 [rest illegible]".
Marking: Unclear collector's mark at lower left corner (sometimes as Einar Perman, sometimes as Paolo de' Matteis).
Formerly owned by unidentified Neapolitan collector?, Paolo De Matteis (Italian)at lower left corner of recto; Einar Perman, Stockholm (Swedish); Einar Perman, Stockholm (Swedish)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Italian Renaissance Drawings from New York Collections," November 9, 1965–January 9, 1966.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings Recently Acquired, 1969–1971," January 18–April 16, 1972.
Milwaukee Art Museum. "Renaissance into Baroque: Italian Master Drawings by the Zuccari, 1550-1600," November 17, 1989–January 14, 1990.
National Academy Museum. "Renaissance into Baroque: Italian Master Drawings by the Zuccari, 1550-1600," March 13, 1990–April 29, 1990.
Jacob Bean, Felice Stampfle Drawings from New York Collections, Vol. I: The Italian Renaissance. Exh. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1965, p. 75, no. 134, ill.
John Gere Taddeo Zuccaro: His Development Studied in his Drawings. London, 1969, cat. no. no. 232, p. 209.
Jacob Bean Drawings Recently Acquired, 1969-1971. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art (January 18 - April 16). New York, 1972, cat. no. 59, p. 25.
Jacob Bean, Lawrence Turčić 15th and 16th Century Italian Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1982, cat. no. 283, fig. no. 283, p. 282, ill.
James Mundy, Elizabeth Ourusoff De Fernandez-Gimenez Renaissance into Baroque: Italian Master Drawings by the Zuccari, 1550 - 1600 Exh. cat., Milwaukee Art Museum (November 17, 1989 - January 14, 1990), and National Academy of Design, New York (March 13 - April 29, 1990). Milwaukee., 1989, cat. no. 28, fig. no. 28, pp. 116 - 117, ill.
Marina Cellini Federico Barocci, Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri, Domenico Peruzzini. Tre disegnatori delle Marche nella Collezione Ubaldini Exh. cat. Biblioteca e Civico Museo di Urbania. Le collezioni di Casteldurante dai Della Rovere agli Ubaldini, 2. Urbania, 1994, p. 108.
Marina Cellini, Andrea Emiliani Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri da Fossombrone. Bologna, 1997, p. 171.
Cristina Acidini Luchinat Taddeo e Federico Zuccari: Fratelli pittori del Cinquecento. 2 vols., Milan, Rome, 1999, Vol. 1, p. 102.
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