3 - Perino BUONACCORSI, known as Perino DEL VAGA (Florence 1501–Rome 1547)

Perino BUONACCORSI, known as Perino DEL VAGA (Florence 1501–Rome 1547) Front: study of an eagle, detail of the head and a leafy branch / Back: studies of stucco decoration with an entablature, coat of arms, and caryatids, shown in full face and profile Pen and brown ink 14.5 x 19 cm Trace of a number in the lower right corner; former attribution to Della Bella on the reverse A few foxing spots; two adhesive hinges glued to the reverse This study of an eagle can be compared to several sheets of animal studies by Perino del Vaga, such as the “Studies of Wild Boars” held at the Louvre (Inv. RF 532) (see the exhibition catalog *Perino del Vaga tra Raffaello e Michelangelo*, Mantua, ed. Electa, Milan, 2001, p. 61), or the study of a “Griffin Holding a Coat of Arms” exhibited by Mark Brady in 2014 (2014 catalog, no. 2, repr.) and linked to a decoration from the 1520s at the Baldissini Palace in Rome. There is also an eagle with outstretched wings, its body passing through a leafy wreath, in a copy based on an ancient motif from the portico of Sant’Apostoli (see the Pozzo/Albani sale, Philipps, London, December 12, 1990, lot 294, reprinted), but the motif is extremely common in the Renaissance and was also used by Giulio Romano. The ornamental motifs on the reverse are reminiscent of Perino’s numerous preparatory drawings for painted decorations, such as the “Design for the Wall of the Massimi Chapel in the Church of the Trinità dei Monti” (work cited above, ill. p. 181) or the many later sketches for the Doria Palace in Genoa.