Lot 7: Giovanni Battista Bertani (Mantua circa 1516-1576)

The Rape of Europa
pen and brown ink, brown wash in an inscribed half-arch
6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (166 x 216 mm.)

The Double Numbering Collector, with inscriptions '148.' and 'Cent Quarant. Otto'.

Close to a number of drawings published by Richard Harprath in his article 'Ippolito Andreasi', Master Drawings, 1984, pp. 3-27, and now given to Giovanni Battista Bertani (see R. Bertaghi, 'Giovanni Battista Bertani', Manierismo a Mantova, Milan, 1998, pp. 52-61). Another drawing by Bertani was in the Stichting Collectie P. en N. de Boer, sold in these Rooms, 4 July 1995, lot 11.
Bertani was a painter and architect from Mantua who worked with Giulio Romano from 1531. His first documented work is the exterior decoration of the Palazzina Paleoga in the Palazzo Ducale. He succeeded Giulio as the main architect in Mantua. His major commissions were at the Ducal Palace and in the Church of Santa Barbara.

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