The drawing, executed in pen and ink on laid paper, shows a religious scene, depicting the story of the House of Our Lady (the Holy House) was translated by angels from Nazareth to Loredo to prevent it from destruction by the Muslims.
Our drawing must thave been preparatory for a larger scale project (a church decoration).
THE HOLY HOUSE FROM NAZARETH TO LOREDO :
The Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy House of Loreto is located in
the region Marche, at a short distance from the beach of Porto Recanati. The Holy House is hosted in the Basilica, which was built between 1469
and 1587 and is the heart of the Sanctuary.
It consists of three walls which - according to the ancient and
authoritative tradition - would be the walls in front of the Cave of
Nazareth where the Blessed Virgin Mary was born, lived and received the
Annunciation. The devout tradition tells that the Holy House was
translated by the Angels from Nazareth to Loreto.
A second historical interpretation tells that in 1291, the crusaders
were expelled from the Holy Land by the Muslims and that some Christians
saved the house of the Virgin from destruction. First, they brought it
to a village in Illyria where the Shrine of Our Lady of Trsat was later
built in memory of this appearance. Later, in the night between 9 and 10
December 1294, it was transported to the ancient municipality of
Recanati: first at the port, then on a hill in a public street, where it
is still hosted today.
Both the authoritative tradition and archaeological and philological
studies agree that this transportation was possible thanks to the help
of "Heaven", an "angelic" intervention.
According to archaeological excavations, the three walls of the Holy
House fit perfectly with the perimeter of the Grotto of Nazareth, that
is the remaining part of the house of Mary. Furthermore, the stones with
which it is built do not come from the Recanatese territory, but are
typical of the Palestinian building tradition at the time of Christ.
This testifies to the authenticity of the relic.
The city of Loreto has been flourishing since the Holy House arrival.
Earlier, there was nothing on this hill. The distinguished relic
attracted many pilgrims, looking for grace and blessings. Sick pilgrims
were the first to be carried at the Holy House, asking for their bodies
and spirits to be healed.
Authorship : the drawing is from the Italian-Neapolitan School, given to the circle of Fedele Fischetti.
FEDELE GIOFFREDO FISCHETTI (Naples 1732 - Naples 1792) :
Italian painter, draughtsman of the Neapolitan School. His style
evoluated from late Baroque towards early Neo Classicism. Most of his
works were frescoes or larger scale paintings of a religious,
allegorical or mythological nature.
His work shows the influence of Pompeo Batoni,
which indicates that he may have studied in Rome. He began his career
decorating objects such as caskets and carriages. Once he had
established his reputation, he was called on to create decorative works
for churches and palaces. His first documented works date from 1760.
He executed several projects in Naples, decorating palaces and churches for private and religious patrons.
Period : ca. 1760-1770.
Size : 47,9x25,3cm !!
Condition
: Fairly good. Some scattered dirt throughout. Some spots. The
drawing would benefit from a clean (to remove the spots). Corners,
right side, bottom zone right, mid horizontal : traces of folding. Zone
mid :paper damaged and secured. Unframed.
Shipping
: flat shippingrate 20$. Shipped as International Registered Mail
(with trackingn°). Combined shipping available.
Please
note that shipping delays (beyond the estimated delivery by ebay) are
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this to me in a message as quickly as possible after a sale, giving me
the oportunity to modify the invoice.
The first line of the item descripttion should NOT be : From a recent find on a market near Avignon, is this late 17th century Bolognese School master drawing. It has to be : From a recent find on a market near Parma, is this 18th century Neapolitan School master drawing. I do apologise for the possible confursion.