Attributed to Niccolò Vicentino (active circa 1525-1550) - Lot 13

Attributed to Niccolò Vicentino (active circa 1525-1550) Madonna and Child, Saint Petronius and Saint Sebastian. 1527. Woodcut in chiaroscuro using 4 blocks after Francesco Mazzola, known as Parmigianino or Le Parmesan. 293x393mm. Bartsch 26. Fine proof on laid paper, with the engraved inscription "AA [Andrea Andreani]in mantoua 1605", trimmed outside the border (the latter added in pen and ink) and pasted onto a vellum folio. Annotation "N°56" in pen and sepia ink in the lower right-hand corner of the subject (collector P. Lely's inventory number). Upper left corner skilfully redone. Two thin vertical tears of approx. 50mm (or printing folds) in the full-length bishop's cloak. Small oxidized foreign body in the foot of the saint's column on the right. Collector's marks: - Unidentified six-pointed star mark (Lugt 4695) - possibly Jerome Lanier, official musician to the English Court from 1599 to 1643. "The seal, not described by Lugt, has been associated with Nicholas and Jérôme Lanier. It is difficult to affirm or deny either hypothesis in the present state of our knowledge." (Fondation Custodia, Collector's Marks). According to the Royal Collection Trust, this star-shaped mark is attributable to Nicolas Lanier and his uncle Jérôme, musicians at the court of Charles II of England (1618-1680) and art dealers: "Another source of Italian Renaissance drawings were the collections of Nicholas Lanier and his uncle Jerome, who were both musicians at the royal court. They were also active in the art world. Nicholas Lanier worked as an art dealer and travelled to Italy on at least three occasions. In the Royal Collection, 22 drawings connected with Nicholas Lanier are stamped in black ink with a small five-pointed star, and 14 drawings are stamped with a larger eight-pointed star. Examples include a drawing ofMedea in her chariot after a work by Polidoro da Caravaggio. The five-pointed star is visible in the lower right corner, above the inscription "Pollidoro", written in an elegant 17th-century hand - possibly belonging to Lanier. A six-pointed star mark has been associated with Nicholas's uncle, Jerome Lanier, and can be found on four drawings in the Royal Collection, including Taddeo Zuccaro'sThe Conversion of the Proconsul. On two of the drawings, Jerome's six-pointed star occurs with a "Jerom" inscription, which reinforces the link between the stars and the Lanier collections. In later centuries, it was common for collectors to stamp their drawings with a personal mark to identify ownership. However, this practice was not established in Lanier's day, so the precise meaning of the star marks is not clear." (https://www.rct.uk/collection/stories/collecting-italian-renaissance-drawings) - Peter Lely, "Principal Painter" to Charles II of England (1618-1680) (Lugt 2092); no. 56 in the lower right-hand corner is his inventory number. "Alongside his collection of paintings, Lely built up a remarkable collection of prints and drawings, which he himself believed to be "the best in Europe" (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawl. 8572, Beale Notebook for 1677). As with his paintings, his executors also organized sales to clear his debts. No catalog of the sales of 1688 and 1694 appears to have been printed, but the mark consisting of the letters PL affixedpost mortempar Roger North, a close friend of Lely and one of the executors, gives some idea of the variety and quality of the works on paper in this collection." (Fondation Custodia, Les Marques de collection). - Prosper Henry Lankrink(1628-1692), painter, assistant to Lely, London (Lugt 2090). "He profited above all from Lely's after-death sales (1682 and 1688), but being unable to pay for his numerous purchases, he borrowed money from one of his patrons, Mr. Austen. He was never able to discharge this debt and, after his death, his collection was seized at Austen's request and sold. The quality of the works of art collected by Lankrink appears to have been generally excellent." (Fondation Custodia, Collector's Marks). - Dukes of Devonshire, Chatsworth. Our print is reproduced under no. 113 in the sale "Old Master Prints from Chatsworth", Christie's, December 5, 1985. It is presented as "attributed to Ugo da Carpi". This plate has been attributed to various engravers over the centuries: to Ugo da Carpi (see Luigi Servolini, Ugo da Carpi. I chiaroscuri e le altre opere, Florence, La Nuova Italia, 1977, pl. 41); to Federico Barocci; to Andrea Andreani. Today, it is given to Niccolò Vicentino. The Louvre's Département des Dessins holds the original drawing: "Donné à Er