 |
| Annibale Carracci Youth holding lantern ca. 1588 drawing British Museum |
 |
| Annibale Carracci after Michelangelo Azor from Sistine lunette of Azor and Zadoc before 1605 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
"Regarding money, then, Annibale was never either closefisted or avaricious; quite the contrary; he valued it so little that he kept it openly in his paint box, so that everyone was free to lay hands on it at will. He was kept from such concerns by the continuous practice of his art and the relief that he sought from his labors, without putting his mind to domestic matters, as often happens with men devoted to their studies. Together with money he despised ostentation, with respect both to his person and to painting, and he sought the company of men who were simple and without ambition. He fled the haughtiness of courtiers and of the court, staying there against his will, with so little concern for himself that men accustomed to judging by appearances did not esteem him. Hence he led a secluded life in his rooms with his pupils, spending his hours on painting, which he was wont to call his Lady. He had little tolerance, therefore, for the proclivities of his brother Agostino, who had elevated himself to the showy ways of the courtiers, and the sight of him in their midst and about the antechambers aroused his indignation. In this respect, it was also true that even though Annibale dressed and cared for himself decently and with cleanliness, nevertheless, as he was almost always preoccupied with matters of art, he paid only so much attention to his beard and collar, and at times, tearing himself wearily away from his work, he would emerge late, just as he was, to refresh himself and take the air, and he would be embarrassed to encounter his brother in the palace or in the piazza among gentlemen in grand attire. And so one day as he was going up from the Gallery to his quarters, not quite tidied up from the tasks of painting, he ran into his brother and was vexed to see him walking about in the company of some cavalieri; and he called him aside as if he had some important business to talk over with him, and said to him very softly in his ear, "Remember, Agostino, that you are the son of a tailor."
– from the Life of Annibale Carracci (1672) by Giovan Pietro Bellori, translated by Alice Sedgwick Wohl (Cambridge University Press, 2005)
 |
| Annibale Carracci Youth near water pulling on sock ca. 1585-90 drawing British Museum |
 |
| Annibale Carracci Study for Sibyl before 1605 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
 |
| Annibale Carracci Angel playing violin ca. 1585 drawing British Museum |
 |
| Annibale Carracci Study of praying man, perhaps for Stoning of Stephen before 1605 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
 |
| Annibale Carracci Youth playing violin before 1605 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
 |
| Annibale Carracci Circe ca. 1595 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
 |
| Annibale Carracci Study for fresco ornament at Palazzo Farnese, Rome ca. 1596-98 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
 |
| Annibale Carracc Study for Perseus and Andromeda fresco Palazzo Farnese, Rome ca. 1596-98 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
 |
| Annibale Carracci Two allegorical figures before 1605 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
 |
| Annibale Carracci Reclining Venus in landscape before 1605 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
 |
| Annibale Carracci Study for Virgin Annunciate before 1605 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
 |
| Annibale Carracci Study of drapery before 1605 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |