19th Century Italian School Bernardo Celentano Drawing on Paper

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A 19th Century Italian School, drawing on paper by Bernardo Celentano (1835-1863). Study of a model posed an as angel … Read more A 19th Century Italian School, drawing on paper by Bernardo Celentano (1835-1863). Study of a model posed an as angel holding a scroll. Signed.

Approx 16"H, 12"W, .75"D (overall)
8.5" x 5" (visible)

PROVENANCE:
Giovanni Piancastelli (1845-1926), painter, collector and Director of the Galleria Borghese, Rome (likely the compiler of the albums in which this sheet was contained);
Estate of Reverend Father Francis Agius (1891-1958) of Our Lady of Counsel, Inwood, Long Island, New York;
Sale, New York, by heirs of the above;
Harry Glass, Long Island, New York, circa 1950s, acquired from the above;
Estate of the above;
Neal Glass and Kerry Betensky of Long Island, New York by descent;
Estate of the above.

EXHIBITED:
"Italian 19th Century Drawings and Watercolors," Shepherd Gallery, New York, April 1976.

LITERATURE:
R. Olson, Italian 19th Century Drawings and Watercolors: An Album. Camuccini & Minardi to Mancini & Balla, Shepherd Gallery, New York, April 1976

Modernists and traditionalists will covet this work. And, without a doubt, this presents a singular opportunity for enthusiasts of 19th-century European academic drawings.

Collectors will note, this belongs to an attractive selection of 19th-century academic drawings from the estate of Neal Glass and Kerry Betensky. These sheets originate from an immense corpus of over 12,000 drawings assembled into a series of albums in the later 19th century by Giovanni Piancastelli (1845-1926), a painter as well as then-Director of the Galleria Borghese in Rome. During Piancastelli's period of activity, collecting drawings on this scale was not uncommon, particularly for a figure with close ties to an artistic community such as he had. It is notable that the current selection of drawings were contemporary works of art when Piancastelli acquired them. Many of the artists represented were figures Piancastelli knew personally, and who held teaching positions at the Academy of San Luca in Rome. While the fate of Piancastelli's entire drawing collection is unknown, the first batch purchased from it en bloc was sold in 1901 to the American Hewitt sisters, Sarah and Eleanor, who were forming a museum in New York City. Their 3,500 Piancastelli drawings remain in the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum.

Please note that the cataloguing for these sheets follows the extensive research and connoisseurship undertaken by the Shepherd Gallery, New York, as published in the catalogue to its 1976 exhibition Italian 19th Century Drawings and Watercolors: An Album. Camuccini & Minardi to Mancini & Balla. See less