Studies of a seated angel, heads and hands

Confidently drawn from life in red chalk, following a Florentine tradition inaugurated by Andrea del Sarto, the sheet assembles studies for Poccetti's monumental fresco of Christ served by angels in S. Maria degli Angeli, Florence, dated 1611 (fig.). A model from the artist’s studio posed for all the figures, the main one relating to the angel serving Christ at left in the painting. Despite its large size, only two drawings related to the fresco survive (Uffizi, inv. 8626 F and 8300 F; see P.C. Hamilton, Disegni di Bernardino Poccetti, exhib. cat., Uffizi, Florence, 1980, no. 87, ill.). For the narrative clarity of his works and resepct for the tradition, Poccetti became a favorite of monastic orders in Florence during the Counter-Reformation. The attribution was confirmed to the current owner by Miles Chappell.

Fig. Poccetti, Christ served by angels, S. Maria degli Angeli, Florence.