Giosuè Bernardino Meli, Cardinal in Mozzetta & Mantelletta, Rome, 1840s, Watercolour, Graphite & Marble & Paper

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An original c.1840 watercolour painting, Giosuè Meli, Cardinal in Mozzetta & Mantelletta, Rome.This beautiful drawing in watercolour with graphite is … Read more An original c.1840 watercolour painting, Giosuè Meli, Cardinal in Mozzetta & Mantelletta, Rome.This beautiful drawing in watercolour with graphite is a rare work by the 19th-century Italian sculptor Giosuè Bernardino Meli (1816–1893). Meli usually worked in three dimensions, carving exquisite figures in Carrara marble. This drawing showcases the artist's virtuoso flair for figure modelling, as well as his delicacy of drawn line and precision colouring.After a long period of underappreciation, there has been renewed interest in Meli after a recent biography by Carlo Pinessi of the Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Luzzana.Giosuè Meli moved from his native Luzzano in northern Italy to Rome in 1840, thanks to the patronage of some prominent figures of Bergamo society, such as the noblewoman Lucia Prezzati, the count Leonino Secco Suardo and the cardinal Angelo Maj. In Rome he perfected his sculpture studies in the studio of Giovanni Maria Benzoni (1809–1873), an established sculptor of Bergamo origin. Meli was influenced by the Neoclassical style of Benzoni and other contemporary sculptors working in Rome, such as Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844) and Pietro Tenerani (1789–1869), but he also sought an expressive language between Neoclassicism and Romanticism.This drawing is believed to date from around the time Meli relocated to Rome. Inscribed 'Cardinale in mozzetta e mantelletta' (Cardinal in cape and vestment), it shows a group of Catholic clergymen centred around a cardinal, vividly picked out in red. The presence of the 'mantelletta' indicates that these clergymen are in Rome, where a cardinal is required to wear the mantelletta under the mozzetta as a sign of deference to the Pope.This drawing is one of a pair by Meli that we have for sale, the other of which is a view in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.The drawing is signed 'Meli fecit'. In watercolour with graphite on cream wove paper.There is an unidentified blindstamp, FM in a circle, not in Lugt but presumably a collector's stamp. A group of drawings by Meli sold at Christie's in 1995 bearing the same stamp and dated 1839.Provenance: the present drawing derives from a mixed Victorian album of exceptional quality, previously uncatalogued.All artworks come with a Certificate of Authenticity and—if it is a collection artwork—its accompanying collection text or artist biography. Signed: Signed lower right. Inscribed: Inscribed lower centre. Height: 17.2cm (6.8″) Width: 23.7cm (9.3″) Condition: The overall impression is good, with crisp, clean colouration. There is crease line in the paper running obliquely across the lower right, and further light vertical creasing to the left of the image. Slight wrinkling to the paper at the right edge of the sheet. These issues could be substantailly mounted out. Please see photos for detail. Presented: Unframed. See less