Florentine artists: Cimabue: (continued from f.16 verso); painting for the Santa Maria Novella of the Virgin Mary with Christ child on her knee and angels; Andrea Tafi and the mosaic of St John's Baptistery: 832/5.f.17

Materials used in production

Brown ink

Components of the work

Support composed of laid paper
Leaf Size Height 213 mm Width 150 mm

Techniques used in production

Handwriting : Pen and brown ink on laid paper

Inscription or legends present

• Text: 17
• Location: Upper right
• Method of creation: Brown ink

Inscription present: [i] previous four words crossed through in brown ink; [ii] previous two words crossed through in brown ink; [iii] previous two words crossed through in brown ink; [iii] previous two words crossed through in brown ink; [iv] previous word crossed through in brown ink; [v] previous word crossed through in brown ink

• Text: -ing Manner, the limbs without drawing & / like sticks, the hands & feet without perspective / if in a front[i] figures appeared to stand on the / points of their toes & the attitudes of the other extre-[ii] limbs / -mities few, aukward[sic] & without meaning, the / draperies marked chiefly in straight lines / or& were[sic] they were bent, one following another; / in the picture he Cimabue painted for Santa Maria / Novella of the Virgin Mary as large as life / as life[iii] sitting with the Infant Jesus on her knee / with 3 Angels on each side, about 2 feet along / flying in Attitudes of devotion, in this he has[iv] / improved the art for 'tho he retained in it / general appearance of his predecessors works / he gave the Virgin a beautiful simple face / an easy turn to the head, he paid consider- / -able attention to the folds & their junchons[v] / joints in the drapery, he left out the hard / outlines the Greeks used to express the features / & rounded them & the folds of drapery with / Tender Shadows; this is I believe one of the / greatest things of Cimabue's remaining. / it is much in the style of the whole length / of Richard the 2d in Westminster Abbey / Andrea Tafi followed his master Cimabue's / style in the Mosaic of S:t John's Baptistery
• Location: Recto
• Method of creation: Brown ink

Inscription present: [i] crossed through in brown ink; [ii] preceding four words crossed through in brown ink; [iii] preceding word crossed through in brown ink; [iv] preceding word crossed through in brown ink; [v] preceding word crossed through in brown ink; [vi] preceding word crossed through in brown ink

• Text: Giotto his / Cimabue's / pupil was / a prodigy of genius, his Mosaic picture of / of Our Savious stretching out his hand to save / peter who is sinking in the Waves, under the Porch / of S:t Peter's Church at Rome, is an astonishing / improvement on the works of his predecessors, the / figures in the boat &[i] S:t Peter & Our Saviour / is a well studied composition, is much like / the same subject by Ghiberti on one of the gates of / the Baptistery & seems to be the foundation / of all the compositions of the same subject / there are 4 persons in the clouds above / looking down on Peter & in the 2 sides lower than / corners in[ii] above the Sea are 2 Tritons winds[iii] blowing / horns, the figures have figures[iv] natural good / heads, cab[v] attitudes well expressed, draperies / understood, & a fine &[vi] expression. & just senti- / -ment 'thro the whole, he has aimed at giving a Superior Character to Our Saviour, by making / the head look straight forward, which however / gives stiffness & makes him seem regardless / of Peter, in one of the corners of this picture behind / our Saviour a Bishop's head is seen in the / other corner a man fishing in the Sea
• Location: Verso
• Method of creation: Brown ink

Identification numbers

Accession number: 832/5.f.17
Primary reference Number: 38141
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Thursday 20 May 2021 Last processed: Tuesday 13 June 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints