The Martyrdom of Saint Apollonia

Jacopo Zucchi

Associated Names
Jacopo Zucchi

Artist, Florentine, c. 1541 - c. 1590

This is a drawing of multiple figures in intense interaction, some nude or partially clothed. The composition shows dynamic motion, with figures contorting and reaching out in various gestures. The central focus is a struggle or confrontation between the figures, with one figure pierced by a spear or sword, while others seem to assist or oppose. Above them floats a cherubic or angelic figure with wings. The scene is monochromatic, using shades of brown ink and washes on a cream background, giving it a classical feel. The drawing conveys tension and movement through the interplay of figures and the use of shadow and highlight.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink with brown wash heightened with white over black chalk on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Julius S. Held Collection, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall (approximate): 25.2 x 12.9 cm (9 15/16 x 5 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1983.74.20

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

[Rockman Gallery, New York]; Julius S. Held, Old Bennington, VT; Alexis Ford Audette, 1983; NGA purchase, 1983.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1970

  • The Age of Vasari, University of Notre Dame Art Gallery, South Bend, IN, and University Art Gallery, State University of New York at Binghamton, 1970, no. D29.

  • Selections from the Drawing Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Julius S. Held, University Art Gallery, Binghamton; traveling exhibition, 1970, no. 141.

1979

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of Ingrid and Julius S. Held, The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown; traveling exhibition, 1979, no. 3.

1988

  • Italian Renaissance Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1988, no cat.

1990

  • Julius S. Held, Drawings from His Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York, 1990, no. 64 (xeroxed checklist).

1991

  • From Studio to Studiolo, Florentine Draftsmanship under the First Medici Grand Dukes, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College; Bowdoin College Museum of Art; Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, 1991-1992, no. 59 (not exhibited at Dartmouth).

Bibliography

1974

  • Pillsbury, Edmund. "Drawing by Jacopo Zucchi." Master Drawings 12, no. 1 (Spring, 1974): 15, 29 note 54, pl.15a.

Inscriptions

lower center verso in graphite: [Th?] Zuccaro/Liz 00; lower left verso: 1463

Wikidata ID

Q64580094

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