The Duomo and Campanile, Florence

Details

Israël Silvestre (Nancy 1621-1691 Paris)
The Duomo and Campanile, Florence
black chalk, pen and grey ink, brown and grey wash, watermark device
12¼ x 17 7/8 in. (310 x 454 mm.)

Provenance

The Earl of Abingdon; Sotheby's, London, 17 July 1935, part of lot 5.
with Colnaghi, London, 1935 (Drawings of Rome and Italy... by Israël Silvestre, no. 9).
Philip Hofer, Cambridge, Mass., according to J. Byam Shaw in 'Vier Ansichten von Florenz von Israel Silvestre'.
John (K.S.) Hewitt.

Literature

H. Granville Fell, 'Drawings by Israel Silvestre 1621-1691', The Connoisseur, January 1936, p. 22, fig. 8.
J. Byam Shaw, 'Vier Ansichten von Florenz von Israel Silvestre', Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz, 1957-9, pp. 176-7, fig. 4.

Engraved

Etched by the artist in reverse, with differences, for his Livre de diverses Paisages faicts sur le naturelle, 1661 (L. Faucheux, Catalogue raisonné de toutes les estampes qui forment l'oeuvre d'Israel Silvestre, Paris, 1969, p. 65, no. 8).

Special Notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Silvestre was one year old when Stella drew the Duomo in Florence (see the preceding lot) and chose, about twenty years later, exactly the same viewpoint, though extending the view to the buildings surrounding the cathedral. The execution is very precise, and yet the Campanile is inaccurately shown as seemingly attached to the Duomo. The artist must have been aware of this as in the print published in 1661, based on this drawing (see supra), he decided to respect the exact topography.

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