Claude Lorrain View on a quay ca. 1646 wash drawing from Cavendish Album British Museum |
Anonymous French artist Piazza Navona, Rome ca. 1647-52 drawing on blue paper from the Cavendish Album British Museum |
attributed to Bartolomeo Biscaino Adoration of the Shepherds ca. 1647-57 drawing from the Cavendish Album British Museum |
Pietro Santi Bartoli Figure of Fame ca. 1650-1700 drawing from the Cavendish Album British Museum |
from THE FACE OF PIRANDELLO
"One day the man enters a bookshop and buys yet another volume. When he arrives home, he does not open it. He places it on the table next to the others. One photograph after another. Front and back covers of books bought at random. Portraits of Pirandello. It should be said that in none of the photographs does the playwright smile. No smiles to mitigate the discomfort of the moment. Better to stare and then leave. Even though he is from Rome and is 69 years old."
"On the left-hand side of the table, the black-and-white face on the back cover of Sei personaggi . . . , published by Methuen. The face, in black-and-white, of a man, first of all elegant. The mustache and the goatee, both white. The goatee cut slightly to a point, like a walking stick. It begins just below the lower lip. Well trimmed. It is possible to see his care before the mirror, on certain mornings. The black-and-white face staring fixedly at the camera. A white hat on his head. A hat with a wide sash of black silk. Below: the eyes. Yes. The eyes are always the problem. Wide, rounded below the impeccable round, dark rings. Like the eyes that so attracted Pontormo. Lengthened downwards. In order to be able to trace, from the end of the ring to below the eyebrow, an ellipse in which to situate the forever disconcerted iris. Attentive. Intact, in its fascination."
"Not Giacometti. Giacometti would have traced the line on the horizontal in order to mark first the cut of the eyelid. The lower eyelid. Twice, with two strokes. The lower one pressed harder, blacker. And next a vertical cut to mark the space between the eyebrows. Not Pontormo. Pontormo would have drawn Pirandello's eyes in one stroke, hastily. An ellipse embracing the whole contour of the eyelids. The iris floating halfway between and upwards."
– by artist Juan Muñoz (1953-2001), originally published as a Spanish/English bilingual text in 1994 in Barcelona, English text reprinted in Juan Muñoz, catalog of the 2001 retrospective exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago
attributed to Ciro Ferri after Pietro da Cortona Landscape ca. 1650 drawing from the Cavendish Album British Museum |
attributed to Ciro Ferri Woman painting or drawing a portrait of the Goddess Minerva, attendants above supporting escutcheon before 1689 drawing from the Cavendish Album British Museum |
follower of Pietro da Cortona Study of a woman holding a staff with a perching bird ca. 1660 drawing from the Cavendish Album British Museum |
attributed to Guercino Bearded man in morian helmet with plume before 1666 drawing from the Cavendish Album British Museum |
attributed to Guercino Man in turban before 1666 drawing from the Cavendish Album British Museum |
attributed to Guercino Young woman in profile before 1666 drawing from the Cavendish Album British Museum |
Salvator Rosa Study of bearded man before 1673 drawing from the Cavendish Album British Museum |
attributed to Johann Paul Schor Putti supporting helmet above Escutcheon before 1674 drawing from the Cavendish Album British Museum |
Anthonie van Borssom Two artists on a jetty sketching before 1677 wash drawing from the Cavendish Album British Museum |
Gianlorenzo Bernini Design of Catafalque for funeral of Muzio Mattei at Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome 1668 drawing from Cavendish Album British Museum |
follower of Gianlorenzo Bernini Fountain design with Putto riding Seahorse before 1680 drawing (in poor condition) from the Cavendish Album British Museum |