1000 Drawings of Genius. Victoria Charles

the collection of works of art accumulated originally by the Gonzaga family and later by Isabella d’Este. In 1514 he went back to Parma, where his talents found ample recognition; and for some years the story of his life is the record of his work, culminating in his wonderful re-creation of light and shade.

      It was not, however, a record of undisturbed quiet, for the decoration which he made for the dome of the cathedral was severely criticised. Choosing the subject of the Resurrection, he projected upon the ceiling a great number of ascending figures, which, viewed from below, necessarily involved a multitude of legs, giving rise to the apt description that the painting resembled a “fry of frogs”. It may have been the trouble which later ensued with the chapter of the cathedral, or depression caused by the death of his young wife, but at the age of thirty-six, indifferent to fame and fortune, he retired to the comparative obscurity of his birth place, where for four years he devoted himself to the painting of mythological subjects: scenes of fabled beings removed from the real world and set in a golden arcadia of dreams. His work prefigures Mannerism and the Baroque style.

      201. Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1472–1553, German, Head of a Peasant, c. 1520–1525. Watercolour with opaque white highlights, 19.3 × 15.7 cm. Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel. Northern Renaissance.

      202. Albrecht Dürer, 1471–1528, German, Cardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg, 1518. Charcoal, 42.8 × 32.1 cm. Albertina, Vienna. Northern Renaissance.

      203. Sebastiano del Piombo (Sebastiano Luciani), 1485/1486-1547, Italian, Cartoon for the Head of Saint James, c. 1520. Black and white chalk on paper, 30.2 × 30.5 cm. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. High Renaissance.

      204. Albrecht Dürer, 1471–1528, German, Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1520. Black chalk, 37.3 × 26.8 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Northern Renaissance.

      205. Matthias Grünewald, c. 1475–1528, German, Head of a Young Woman, c. 1520. Black chalk on paper, 27.7 × 19.6 cm. Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin. Northern Renaissance.

      MATTHIAS GRÜNEWALD

      (Würzburg, c. 1475 – Halle an der Saale, 1528)

      Grünewald and Dürer were the most prominent artists of their era. Painter, draughtsman, hydraulic engineer and architect, he is considered the greatest colourist of the German Renaissance. But, unlike Dürer, he did not make prints and his works were not numerous: ten or so paintings (some of which are composed of several panels) and approximately thirty-five drawings. His masterpiece is the Isenheim Altarpiece, commissioned in 1515.

      His works show a dedication to medieval principles, to which he brought expressions of emotion not typical of his contemporaries.

      206. Matthias Grünewald, c. 1475–1528, German, Head of a Shouting Child, c. 1520. Black chalk on paper, 24.4 × 20 cm. Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin. Northern Renaissance.

      207. Andrea del Sarto (Andrea d’Agnolo), 1486–1530, Italian, Study for the Head of Mary Magdalene, date unknown. Red pencil on watermarked white paper, 21.7 × 17 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. High Renaissance.

      ANDREA DEL SARTO (Andrea d’Agnolo)

      (Florence, 1486–1530)

      The epithet ‘del sarto’ (of the tailor) is derived from his father’s profession. Apart from a visit to Fontainebleau in 1518–1519 to work for Francis I, Andrea was based in Florence all his life. A pioneer of Mannerism and a leading fresco painter of the High Renaissance, Andrea selected subjects that were nearly always covered in bright, solidly coloured robes without adornment. Major works include the John the Baptist series at the Chiostro dello Scalzo (1511–1526) and his Madonna of the Harpies (1517). Andrea suffered from being the contemporary of such giants as Michelangelo and Raphael, but he undoubtedly ranks as one of the greatest masters of his time.

      208. Andrea del Sarto (Andrea d’Agnolo), 1486–1530, Italian, Head of an Old Man in Profile, date unknown. Black pencil and wash on watermarked white paper, 21.8 × 18.1 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. High Renaissance.