The Fitzwilliam Museum - University of Cambridge

and wash for the figure of the tyrant seated on his
throne, with the nude body of the saint standing
immediately in front of him. On the reverse is an even
more rapidly drawn study, in red and black chalk, of the
archers firing arrows. The drawing is of especial interest
since it gives an insight into the neo-Raphaelism of
Barocci’s early, provincial style as a draughtsman at the
very outset of his extraordinary career.
The exhibition organizer, David Scrase, did not shy
away from some of the difficult issues of attribution
that have affected the recent study of Barocci’s
drawings. It was fascinating to see the inclusion of
the Aeneas Anchises Fleeing from the Burning City
of Troy in the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, long
recognized as the modello for the print of the
subject by Agostino Carracci. This work has for long
been assigned, somewhat illogically, to the School of
the Carracci, but the arguments that it might be a
finished modello in chiaroscuro by Barocci himself,
which he then supplied to Agostino for engraving,
were supported by comparisons with similar
passages in more typical works in monochrome
by Barocci in the exhibition.
Finally, a word must be said about the elegant
catalogue, sponsored by Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox of
London. A return to brevity in the writing of
catalogue entries is a welcome departure. By
focussing on essentials, the text, like the exhibition
itself, had all the more impact. As for the colour,
design and production, this is surely one of the most
attractively produced exhibition catalogues devoted
to Old Master drawings to have been published
anywhere in the last few years.
Nicholas Turner is an independent art historian, whose
monograph on Barocci was published in 2000.
A Touch of the Divine: Drawings by Federico Barocci
in British Collections was on display in the Mellon
Gallery, 16 February - 29 May 2006. The exhibition
was supported by SG Hambros, the John Lewis
Partnership and the Italian Cultural Institute.
17
Exhibitions
ABOVE
Federico Barocci
(1528/35–1612)
Aeneas Anchises
Fleeing from the
Burning City of Troy
(The Royal Collection
© 2006 Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II)