Figura seduta di Pallade Atena (1531-1535)

Parmigianino (1503-1540)

Figura seduta di Pallade Atena (Seated Figure of Pallas Athena)
15311535
Pen and brown ink on light tan laid paper prepared with salmon wash, 5.8 × 5.8 cm
Princeton University Art MuseumPrinceton

These three fragments represent Parmigianino’s preliminary ideas for the splendid brooch worn by Minerva, or Pallas Athena, in his bust-length painting of the ancient goddess. The upper and lower drawings focus on the overall design and the winged figure of Victory, shown in the brooch flying over the city of Athens. The central sketch, possibly an abandoned idea for the same project, derives from an ancient coin that Parmigianino saw in the collection of one of his patrons. In all three sketches the artist employed his calligraphic penmanship to delineate with filigree precision the graceful, elongated figure types, with long torsos and small heads, that he perfected during his Roman sojourn. Many of Parmigianino’s surviving sketches were cut from larger sheets by greedy dealers or by aesthetically inclined collectors such as Pierre-Jean Mariette, who framed and placed these three examples like exquisite gems on one of his custom-made blue mats. In addition to inscribing the mat with the artist’s name and life dates, Mariette encouraged the viewer to look at the sketches on the backs of the upper and lower drawings with the abbreviated invitation: T.S.V.P. (Tournez s’il vous plait: “Turn over please”). (PUAM)

Companions:

Parmigianino (1503-1540)
Studio per la figura della Vittoria
15311535
Princeton University Art MuseumPrinceton

 

 

Parmigianino (1503-1540)
Due studi per la figura della Vittoria
15311535
Princeton University Art MuseumPrinceton