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Drawing 1 (left): Pedestal and pilaster base from the ground storey of Cortile del Belvedere’s lowest terrace
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Reference number
SM volume 115/117a
Purpose
Drawing 1 (left): Pedestal and pilaster base from the ground storey of Cortile del Belvedere’s lowest terrace
Aspect
Cross section and raking view of front, with measurements
Scale
To an approximate scale of 1:23
Inscribed
[Measurements]
Signed and dated
- c.1513/14
Datable to c.1513/14
Medium and dimensions
Pen and brown ink and grey-brown wash over stylus lines and compass pricks
Hand
Bernardo della Volpaia
Notes
Despite the lack of a caption, Ashby correctly identified this pedestal and pilaster base as being from the Doric ground storey of the Cortile del Belvedere’s bottom terrace (cf. Letarouilly 1963, 2–3, p. 132). They are also seen in two elevational drawings of the ground storey elsewhere in the codex (Fols 27r/Ashby 43 and 28r/Ashby 45), and this drawing complements the one included a little earlier in the codex that shows the Doric capital and entablature (Fol. 46v/Ashby 78). The pedestal is idiosyncratic in having a base with an astragal at the bottom and two cyma mouldings above it, and it was also depicted, together with the base of the pilaster above, by Sebastiano Serlio in Book Three of his treatise first published in 1540.
The sheet, by showing all three of the Cortile's pedestals, is like those in the codex of the Pantheon (Fol. 65r/Ashby 111) and Trajan’s Column (Fol. 76r/Ashby 129) that show a range of details from the same monument. This particular drawing accords in format with the others on the page but differs a little from the previous one of the Doric capital and entablature (Fol. 46v/Ashby 78). In the earlier drawing, the entablature is shown with a raking view that is axonometric, and also with a use of wash that is heavy, whereas in this one the raking view is seen in perspective and the employment of wash is minimal. These differences may be indicative of the present drawing being executed at a slightly later date. The profile in this drawing was copied by Michelangelo.
RELATED IMAGES: [Michelangelo] Florence, CB, 1Av: right side (De Tolnay 1975–80, 4, p. 49; Agosti–Farinella 1987, pp. 90–91)
OTHER IMAGES MENTIONED: Serlio 1619, 3, fol. 119r
OTHER DRAWINGS IN CODEX CONER OF SAME SUBJECT: Fol. 15r/Ashby 25; Fol. 27r/Ashby 43; Fol. 27v/Ashby 44; Fol. 28r/Ashby 45; Fol. 28v/Ashby 46; Fol. 46v/Ashby 78; Fol. 53v/Ashby 92; Fol. 54r/Ashby 93; Fol. 68r/Ashby 116; Fol. 69r/Ashby 117 (Drawings 2–4 on this page); Fol. 72r/Ashby 122
The sheet, by showing all three of the Cortile's pedestals, is like those in the codex of the Pantheon (Fol. 65r/Ashby 111) and Trajan’s Column (Fol. 76r/Ashby 129) that show a range of details from the same monument. This particular drawing accords in format with the others on the page but differs a little from the previous one of the Doric capital and entablature (Fol. 46v/Ashby 78). In the earlier drawing, the entablature is shown with a raking view that is axonometric, and also with a use of wash that is heavy, whereas in this one the raking view is seen in perspective and the employment of wash is minimal. These differences may be indicative of the present drawing being executed at a slightly later date. The profile in this drawing was copied by Michelangelo.
RELATED IMAGES: [Michelangelo] Florence, CB, 1Av: right side (De Tolnay 1975–80, 4, p. 49; Agosti–Farinella 1987, pp. 90–91)
OTHER IMAGES MENTIONED: Serlio 1619, 3, fol. 119r
OTHER DRAWINGS IN CODEX CONER OF SAME SUBJECT: Fol. 15r/Ashby 25; Fol. 27r/Ashby 43; Fol. 27v/Ashby 44; Fol. 28r/Ashby 45; Fol. 28v/Ashby 46; Fol. 46v/Ashby 78; Fol. 53v/Ashby 92; Fol. 54r/Ashby 93; Fol. 68r/Ashby 116; Fol. 69r/Ashby 117 (Drawings 2–4 on this page); Fol. 72r/Ashby 122
Literature
Ashby 1904, p. 57
Ackerman 1954, p. 196
Günther 1988, p. 337
Ackerman 1954, p. 196
Günther 1988, p. 337
Level
Drawing
Digitisation of the Codex Coner has been made possible through the generosity of the Census of Antique Works of Art and Architecture Known in the Renaissance, Berlin.
If you have any further information about this object, please contact us: drawings@soane.org.uk