Lot 15: LELIO ORSI

DESIGN FOR A WALL DECORATION

10 by 11 15/16 in; 254 by 303 mm

Pen and brown ink and gray wash, heightened with white; the bottom edge cut to shape;bears Esdaile's notation on the mount: 107-2 Udny 1803 and Lelio da Novellara

Probably Nicholas Lanier (a star similar to his mark L.2886);
Robert Udny (L.2248),
his sale, London, T. Philipe and Scott, 4-10 May 1803, lot 304 (for £19);
William Esdaile (L.2617),
his sale, London, Christie's, 18 June 1840, lot 162, sold with another lot by Orsi for £2.6.0;
Possibly Thomas Thane (possibly his mark T Th in chalk on the back of the mount);
Sale, New York, Sotheby's, 28 January 1998, lot 4;
with P. & D. Colnaghi, London

This highly finished design is characteristic of Orsi's penmanship and figure type, although more serene than some of his rather dramatic compositions. Many easel paintings by him survive, but Orsi's numerous documented wall and façade frescoes have largely perished and can only be imagined through his surviving drawings. He also designed temporary decorations and objects. (1) The present work was probably intended for a wall decoration, with an illusionistic architectural setting. The drawing shares some similarities with a study of Two Herms, sold London, Sotheby's, 2 July 1997, lot 41, which bore an 18th century attribution to Giulio Romano on the mount, an interesting reflection of the fact that Orsi was influenced by Giulio's work early in his career.

1. See, for example, Lelio Orsi, exhib. cat., Reggio Emilia, Teatro Valli, 1987-88, nos. 114, 116, 121