Fortitude
Artist/Maker
Material / Technique
Dimensionsh x w: Mått 28,4 x 21,7 cm
Inventory numberNMH 17/1863
Other titlesTitle (sv): Styrkan Title (en): Fortitude Inventory title (sv): Sittande qvinna i Minervacostym. Klubba i högra handen
DescriptionDescription: A copy of one of the allegorical figures in Sala dell'Udienza in Collegio del Cambio, Perugia, the decoration of which began in 1498. The tradition of Raphael's involvement in this work goes back to the 17th century. The attribution to him of Fortitudo with 1505 as the date, stems from Adolfo Venturi (1913) and has been adopted, for example, by Fischel (1948), Becherucci (1968) and, with many reservations, Camesasca (1966). The head verso is copied from Perugino's "Sposalizio della Vergine" in Caen, probably begun around 1500 and completed after 1503. The sheet comes from a sketch or pattern book (the irregular right edge shows traces of binding, while the left edge is straight with rounded corners). Two more sheets from the same volume, in the Louvre and the Chantilly, have pen drawings after the fresco in Collegio di Cambio on one side and chalk drawings of heads from the Caen painting on the other. Fischel found traces of pricking on the heads and discussed the possibility that they were executed with the aid of the cartoon for the painting and therefore perhaps by a studio assistant, maybe the person who did the preparatory work in the painting for Perugino. He considered the drawings in the context of work by Lo Spagna but found the verso's pen drawing too weak for the master. An attempt in an essay by Berenson to attribute the painting to Lo Spagna has not been accepted though the latter has been mentioned, as have others, as a conceivable assistant. The recto drawing is very close to another copy of the same fresco, now in the Uffizi, that Ferino Pagden attributes to Berto di Giovanni. The traces of binding indicate that the side with the chalk drawing is the original recto. One side of each sheet was presumably used for copies after the Caen painting and the book was re-used for recording motifs from the frescoes. [Also see Bjurström, It. Drawings, cat. no. 402] [Bjurström, It. Drawings, cat. no. 1062]
Collection
Geographical origin
TechniqueUnder drawing (Drawing), Drawing
Object category