Lot 96: GIOVANNI DAVID

ANGELS LAMENTING OVER THE DEAD CHRIST

10 1/8 by 7 1/2 in; 257 by 192 mm

Pen and brown ink and wash, over black chalk. Squared in black chalk, the squares numbered at the edges. Bears black chalk attribution: David

Santo Varni (bears his inscription in pen and brown ink:....Collezione, overwritten with numbering N.24, Santo Varni/...81);
sale, London, Sotheby' s, 16-17 April 1997, lot 209

This drawing bears a traditional attribution to David, and the style and the physiognomy of the angels are characteristic of his work. He was born at Cabella Ligure and worked as a painter and engraver and also as a scenographer, often for the famous Genoese noble family, the Durazzi.
The Genoese collector Santo Varni, who owned the drawing, also owned others by the artist, for example the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, now in a private collection, which is preparatory for David's painting in Santa Maria delle Vigne, Genoa. (1)

1. See M. Newcome Schleier and G. Grasso, Giovanni David, Pittore e incisore della famiglia Durazzo, Turin 2003, p. 79, D. 31, reproduced