Here is another true rarity. Stefano Da Verona was part of a fairly close group of artists in the Veneto during the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15thC. This group included Mantegna, Zoppo, Badile and several other well known artists. If you are familiar with art in Venice, you will know that is some of the most beautiful in Italy. This work is no doubt a study for either a personal devotional device, or a painting. It may have been for a fresco, however, few wall paintings are attributed to Stefano. This drawing looks little different than most of his other known works, it is simply a variant subject matter. The sheet is extremely thin, almost like tissue, and appears to have been taken from a model book. There a couple other known works that appear to be on the same paper, perhaps from the same book. There is a detail of a leg on the verso. There is a small 3/4 face drawn along the sketch. It appears to be the same girl with a slightly different chin? The sheet measures 31.5 x 22 cm and is good condition. The sheet is somewhat dirty and with a mended tear at UR and LL. Much has been written about Stefano and the Veneto artists, along with it’s strange collectors mark. Please ask if you would like additional, more pointed information. ***********Shipping is based on overnight in the contiguous states. Worldwide will be more. PLEASE ENQUIRE PRIOR TO SALE PRICING AND LOCATIONS THAT I SHIP TO WORLDWIDE************

PROVENANCE: This sheet is marked with, what Lugt calls his earliest collectors mark (L. 2990a). According to Lugt, it is that of Felice Feliciano (1433-1479). Apparently, he was a friend of this group of artists and collected some of their works. These included many drawings by artists of the day that surrounded him, including Stefano. On several of the works from these artists, he included a device, or signum, which were popular at the time to personalize the works as part of his collection. Most of the other works have had this signum scratched out and removed (which was common at the time), however, it remains on this one. No doubt because to scratch it out would ruin the drawing and the sheet due to it’s delicacy. The collection eventually made it into the Calceolari/Moscardo collection where it remained until Luigi Grassi bought most of it. The declension of the provenance would be thus:

Felice Feliciano (Italian);

Francesco Calzolari;

Count Ludovico Moscardo Minischalchi (Italian);

Count Luigi Miniscalchi (Italian);

Count Mario Miniscalchi-Erizzo (Italian);

Luigi Grassi (L.1171b)

Private sale 1915