An exquisitely delicate example of Vanni’s draughtsmanship, this chalk study depicts a young woman gazing downwards, with gentle tendrils of hair falling at her cheek. With sanguine applied over a loose form of black chalk, a healthy warmth is concentrated in the woman’s tender features, colouring her nostrils and lips with the flush of her cheek. A similar technique can be seen in a group of drawings by Vanni belonging to the collection of Albert Casimir, Duke of Saxe-Teschen. An indistinct date to the bottom left of the paper suggests a creation of 1629, during Vanni’s residence in Rome.  

Bearing the collector’s stamp of Jonathan Richardson the Younger (1694-1771) (L.2170), the drawing previously belonged to the outstanding collection of Old Master drawings first established by Jonathan Richardson the Elder (1667-1745) and expanded upon by his son. Further to Richardson Senior’s leading portrait practice, the father and son were employed to catalogue and mount works including the outstanding collection of Old Master drawings at Chatsworth. Richardson Senior’s legacy was considerable, and his An Essay on the Theory of Painting influenced the young Joshua Reynolds. The present drawing was likely included in the vast sale of works following Richardson Junior’s death, held over seven days at Langfords in 1772. The drawing later came into the collection of the Barons Monson. 

GIOVANNI BATTISTA VANNI (Florence 1599-1660 Florence):

Vanni was born at either Pisa or Florence in 1599, and studied successively under Aurelio Lomi and Matteo Rosselli, before entering the ‘Academia’ of Jacopo da Empoli where he refined his draughtsmanship. He later became a pupil of Cristofano Allori and Giovanni Bilivert, and around Easter 1624 was recorded in Rome with Orazio Riminaldi, Vouet and Poussin. He lived in Rome until 1632. Working as both a painter and engraver, Vanni’s first dateable painting is that of Miracle of Saint Benedictus (c. 1620), about which time he collaborated with Matteo Rosselli on the Casino Mediceo di San Marco, alongside Jacopo Vignali, Domenico Pugliani, and others. 

Vanni’s notable works in oil include a Triumph of David in the Galleria di Palazzo Alberti, Prato, an Annunciation for the Church of San Francesco di Paola, Florence, and a deposition of Saint Sebastian in the Basilica of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome. Vanni also executed a number of frescoes within the San Antonio Cloister at San Marco, Florence, including those surrounding Fra Angelico’s Christ of Pity. He was noted for his skill in engraving, and produced a series of fifteen etching plates from Correggio’s frescoes at Parma Cathedral. He also engraved Correggio’s The Martyrdom of Saint Placidus, as well as Veronese’s Marriage at Cana. He died at Florence in 1660.