Attributed to Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini
Venice, Italy; early 18th century
Pen and ink over red chalk on

Approximate size: 17.75 (h) x 14 (w) x .5 (d) in. (frame); 10.25 (h) x 5.75 (w) (drawing)

The present sketch, cut from a larger sheet, preserves a sketch of Samson Defeating the Philistines from the biblical account of Judges, chapter 15. The drawing is inscribed in the upper left with an old attribution ‘Pelegrini’ and the work does indeed appear commensurate with other of Pellegrini’s works in pen and ink over a red chalk underdrawing. There is also the subtle influence of Pellegrini’s mentor, Paolo Pagini, and could suggest the sketch dates to the earlier part of Pellegrini’s career.

The subject of the sketch reproduces a sculpture of Samson Defeating the Philistines whose original model has its origin in Michelangelo Buonarroti’s preparations for an unrealized monumental marble intended to serve as a pendant to his famous David, originally situated in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence. An early terracotta of the subject is preserved in Michelangelo’s house-turned-museum (Casa Buonarroti, inv. 19) and a variety of embellished bronze iterations of the sculpture by various sculptors survive in thirteen known antique casts, the most notable of which is in the Bargello (inv. 286B).

Early painted and sketched references to Michelangelo’s model are observed in his pupil, Daniele da Volterra’s reference to the work in his Massacre of the Innocents in San Pietro in Selci and in another fresco at Santissima Trinita dei Monti in Rome, executed during the 1550s. The early appreciation for the model is evinced also in Fedrico Zuccari’s painted portrait of Michelangelo’s Florentine successor, Giambologna, made during the 1570s (National Gallery of Scotland).

Early sketches of the subject were recorded by Tintoretto or his studio during the late 1540s and by Andrea Commodi during the 1620s (Uffizi invs. 18524 F, 18665 F, 18666 F). Based upon the angle of the figures, our particular sketch follows Tintoretto’s sketch preserved in the Morgan Library (inv. 2005.234). Tintoretto’s Venetian copy of Michelangelo’s models provides a reasonable segway to Pellegrini’s much later Venetian awareness of the subject. Another less finished sketch by Tintoretto, of the same subject and angle, is preserved in the Cantor Arts Center (inv. 1983.231).

Mounted, matted and framed. Provenance available upon request.

Condition commensurate with age. Some spotting present throughout. Minor nicks along some edges as well as minor foxing along the entire border of the sheet.