Francesco PARMIGIANINO (1503 - 1540): The Two Lovers - c. 1527/1530
VENDU
Etching and drypoint, 149 x 104 mm. Bartsch (vol. 16) no. 14, Jenkins (in The Renaissance of etching) cat. 57, 2nd state (of 4).
Impression of the 2nd state (of 4), with a few drypoint strokes added, notably under the man's right foot and on the reeds and trees in the upper right-hand corner, but before the addition of engraved lines, for example between the man's left knee and right calf or to the right of his face. A 2nd state impression in the Graphische Sammlung der ETH Zürich (E47) has a sketch by Parmigianino on the reverse (see Landau and Parshall, p. 269).
Superb impression printed on laid paper. Very good condition. Very minor thinning at the edges on the verso, consolidated by a very thin strip of Japanese paper. Fine, very faint fold at the bottom recto, very slightly soiled. Thread margins all around the platemark.
Provenance:
- Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode (1730 - 1799), Protestant minister and English amateur (Lugt 606)
- Jonathan Blackburne (1721 - 1786) (Lugt 2650b). Handwritten inscriptions in his hand appear on the reverse in graphite: the initials C.M.C., accompanied by the date 1761 and the indication n°36-1. The initials C.M.C. indicate that Jonathan Blackburne's impression came from Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode. According to the author of the 2020 revision of the Frits Lugt notice, Jonathan Blackburne was ‘the greatest collector of prints of his time, active in the Liverpool area’ and his collection ‘contained mainly sheets by the Italian School of the 16th and 17th centuries (in particular The Parmesan, the Carracci and Rosa)’. The author of the notice adds: ‘Blackburne inscriptions are not easy to interpret, especially when they begin with initials (which is often the case). None of the auction sales seem to match the initials and years given. It is possible that these were not purchases made at an auction sale, but perhaps purchases made directly from a dealer. In this case, the numbers are not lot numbers, but may refer to an order or inventory number used by the collector himself’ (translated by us).
- Nathaniel Smith (1738 - 1809) was a London sculptor, print dealer and publisher (Lugt 2297 and 3017). His handwritten mark appears on the verso, in pen and ink: NSmith, accompanied by an indication of purchase price CIG~X and provenance: Blackburne sale 1786.
‘Exemplifying Parmigianino’s total mastery of the etching technique, this print displays the intricate systems of hatching and fine, supple lines he used to define the elegant figures and the vibrant landscape that surrounds them.’ (Catherine Jenkins, p. 138).
A slightly smaller drawing of the same subject in grey chalk with white highlights is in the Albertina Museum in Vienna (no. 2680).
A superb and rare impression from prestigious provenances.
References: Nadine Orenstein, Freyda Spira, Peter Fuhring and Catherine Jenkins: The Renaissance of Etching, 2019; David Landau and Peter W. Parshall: The Renaissance print, 1470-1550, 1994.