Inscribed in ink in a contemporary hand, possibly that of Giuseppe Manocchi, Candeliere di S. Pietro di Michelangelo

• Undated, probably 1760 - 63

Pen, brown wash (later, pencil) 561 x 183

Giuseppe Manocchi

This drawing is a copy of that by Antonio Gentili (1519-1609) in the RIBA Drawings Collection, London, which may have belonged to 'the French architect Henri Marlet in the late eighteenth century in Rome' (M. Richardson, The Art of the Architect, London, 1984, p.37). There is a candle design by Giuseppe Manocchi (1731-82) of c.1777 in the Drawings Collection (see J. Lever, Catalogue of the Drawings Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects, L-N, London, 1973, p.64), which was attributed to Charles Heathcote Tatham and others in album five of the Hardwick drawings in the RIBA (see 5/4). There is another candelabra design attributed to Manocchi in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London that is described as 'in the antique Roman taste' (P. Ward-Jackson, Victoria and Albert Museum, Italian Drawings, 2 vols., London, 1979, II, pp.154-5). The inscription on both this sheet and Adam vol.26/111 is probably by Manocchi. The bronze candelabrum shown here was one of six made by Gentili in 1581 and later presented to St Peter's, Rome.
There is a copy of this drawing in ink on tracing paper in the Victoria & Albert Museum (see Ward-Jackson, op.cit., II, p.154). The provenance of the V&A's drawing (Charles James Richardson 1806 - 71) reinforces its connection with the Soane drawing, as it does for Adam vol.26/111.
Robert Adam possibly used these drawings as a source adapted for his Luton candelabra of c.1775, which he described as 'Bronzes executed in Italy in the Style of Mich. Angelo' (see The Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam, London, 1773-79, part III, pl.VIII).

Drawing

The Adam Brothers in Rome: Drawings from the Grand Tour, Sir John Soane's Museum, London, 25 September 2008 - 14 February 2009

Digitisation of the Drawings Collection has been made possible through the generosity of the Leon Levy Foundation

If you have any further information about this object, please contact us: drawings@soane.org.uk