{"id":967,"date":"2011-06-09T12:27:24","date_gmt":"2011-06-09T16:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.vassar.edu\/rosso2\/"},"modified":"2013-06-04T16:26:20","modified_gmt":"2013-06-04T20:26:20","slug":"iv-south-the-planned-south-cabinet-the-nymph-of-fontainebleau-and-the-dana","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/catalogues\/paintings\/p-22\/iv-south-the-planned-south-cabinet-the-nymph-of-fontainebleau-and-the-dana\/","title":{"rendered":"P.22 IV South: Planned South Cabinet, The Nymph of Fontainebleau and The Dana\u00eb"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

P.22 IV South: The Dana\u00eb<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/strong>The central oval fresco: c. 1.01 x c. 2.54 m.<\/p>\n

Fig.P.22, IV S a<\/a> whole wall
\nFig.P.22, IV S b<\/a> left
\nFig.P.22, IV S c<\/a> right
\nFig.P.22, IV S d<\/a> bw, left, Apollo’s chariot
\nFig.P.22, IV S e<\/a> bw, right, Diana’s chariot
\nFig.P.22, IV S,Tapestry, a<\/a> bw, whole tapestry
\nFig.P.22, IV S,Tapestry, b<\/a> bw, Apollo\u2019s chariot
\nFig.P.22, IV S,Tapestry, c<\/a> bw, Diana\u2019s chariot
\nFig.P.22, IV S,Tapestry, d<\/a> bw, child musicians<\/p>\n

The project of a South Cabinet, to match the one on the north side of the gallery, was planned in 1528, apparently built to some extent, and then abandoned, it would seem, some short while before April 1534 when construction was begun on the kitchens, larders and terrace on the south side of the block in which the gallery is located. \u00a0Prior to its destruction Primaticcio was probably assigned its decoration, possibly in collaboration with Rosso. \u00a0With the removal of the South Cabinet its entrance wall became a continuous wall without a doorway. \u00a0For this new wall area Rosso designed the Nymph of Fontainebleau<\/em> with its frame known from an engraving by Milan and Boyvin (see below). \u00a0Only the engraved frame, slightly modified, was actually executed in the gallery. \u00a0The image of the Nymph,<\/em> designed as a relief, so interpreted from the inscription on the print (see Carroll, 1987, 252-256), was replaced by Primaticcio\u2019s fresco of Dana\u00eb<\/em>, the subject of which was probably originally planned for the South Cabinet.<\/p>\n

In the gallery the stucco fruit held in the baskets at right and left is partly remade to fill the area once occupied by the lower set beams. \u00a0As visible in the Milan-Boyvin print and in the Vienna tapestry (see below), a pair of high volutes originally embraced the beams; a remnant of this motif survives in the two volutes rising from the left basket. \u00a0The winged putto\u2019s head in stucco just beneath the salamander is an addition of the latest restoration based upon the tapestry. \u00a0The Milan-Boyvin engraving shows a smaller head. \u00a0Given that the tapestry tends to exaggerate the size of all parts of the decoration here a smaller head may originally have been in the gallery. \u00a0Above the salamander in the tapestry there seems to be a repair which might replace something that was once here in the gallery although the Milan-Boyvin print does not show anything. \u00a0Pressouyre, \u201cRestaurations,\u201d 1972, 29, states that the large stucco figures are similar in style and technique to those designed by Primaticcio in the Chambre de la Duchesse d\u2019Etampes. \u00a0Technically this may be true but stylistically Rosso\u2019s women look quite unlike Primaticcio\u2019s. \u00a0One might compare Rosso\u2019s figures with those in the Loss of Perpetual Youth<\/em> (Fig.P.22, II S a<\/a>), designed probably about the same time as the Nymph of Fontainebleau <\/em>wall or only slightly earlier.<\/p>\n

However, while the frame and the central picture of the Nymph<\/em> wall as seen in the Milan-Boyvin print would seem to date from early 1534 \u2013 compare, for example, the head of Dana\u00eb with the head of the Virgin in the Annunciation<\/em> in Vienna (D.43<\/a>), which may actually have been done no later than 1533 \u2013 the two oval frescoes (Fig.P.22, IV S d<\/a>; Fig.P.22, IV S e<\/a>) at the top of this wall have figures and compositions that seem later. \u00a0The reclining nude in the right Diana oval is identical to Hercules in Rosso\u2019s Dream of Hercules<\/em>, known from a drawing in the Louvre (D.78<\/a>) and a print attributed to Boyvin (E.17<\/a>), that was probably invented in 1539. \u00a0The Michelangelesque character of the two small oval frescoes, so unlike what appears in the only other comparable small frescoes in the gallery, the round paintings flanking the Loss of Perpetual Youth <\/em>(Fig.P.22, II S f<\/a>; Fig.P.22, II S g<\/a>), suggests that the oval frescoes were designed in the last period of Rosso\u2019s work on the gallery, after mid-August 1536, or, if designed earlier as their appearance in the print would seem to indicate, were modified in a Michelangelesque manner when executed at that later time.<\/p>\n

The substitution of Primaticcio\u2019s Dana\u00eb<\/em> in fresco for Rosso\u2019s planned relief of the Nymph of Fontainebleau<\/em> would not have taken place until this time. \u00a0B\u00e9guin, \u201cProgramme mythologique,\u201d 1972, 166, suggested that the payment to Claude Badouin in 1537 \u201cpour avoir fait un grand pourtraict [not “pourtour”] pour l\u2019un des tableaux\u201d in the gallery refers to Primaticcio\u2019s Dana\u00eb<\/em>. \u00a0Barocchi, 1951, 211, n. 5, also thought that the fresco was executed in 1537, not in 1542 as proposed by Dimier, 1900, 302. \u00a0It is possible that the payment to Badouin indicates the making of the cartoon for this fresco. \u00a0But it could also indicate work for another wall. \u00a0In any case, Primaticcio\u2019s fresco would seem to have been executed before the woodwork was installed in the gallery in 1539.1<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The Nymph of Fontainebleau<\/span><\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n

PRINT: E.103. \u00a0Pierre Milan and Ren\u00e9 Boyvin, The Nymph of Fontainebleau in a Frame<\/em> (E.103<\/a>). \u00a0This large engraving shows in reverse the frame of this wall surrounding Rosso\u2019s Nymph of Fontainebleau<\/em> and is the only print that shows a frame with the scene it encloses, or was meant to enclose, in the gallery and not with a landscape. \u00a0The intention of the engraving is, therefore, quite different from that of Fantuzzi\u2019s etchings. \u00a0Milan and Boyvin\u2019s print was made, as its inscription indicates, to preserve the design of one of the walls in the gallery only part of which was executed according to Rosso\u2019s plan. \u00a0The identification of the reclining woman as Diana must be a later identification with reference to Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henri II, during whose reign the print was made. \u00a0The frame shown in the engraving is not copied from what was executed in the gallery where differences can be found: all but one of the music-playing putti have sashes of drapery, and there is a broad stucco slab with birds and garlands instead of a dog with bones and a chained monkey with a piece of fruit that are shown as painted here in the print. \u00a0It is very likely that the engraving was based on a lost drawing by Rosso that may have been similar to his drawing at Christ Church that illustrates a sonnet by Petrarch (D.47<\/a>), and likely, too, that from this drawing later ones were made from which the frame was actually executed. \u00a0In addition to the changes indicated above the postures of the women were slightly altered, the baskets above their heads were made differently, and the stucco putti at the upper right and left were given other positions. \u00a0On the drapery added at the women\u2019s hips and the different design of the top of the pedestals see the discussion of the Fantuzzi etching below. \u00a0The engraving is interesting in showing a cross-section of the transverse beams and the garlands as painted at the outer sides of the wall, details that also suggest that the print is based on a lost drawing. \u00a0For an exact copy of this print, see under E.103.<\/p>\n

A few details of one of Du Cerceau\u2019s Grands Cartouches, Second Set (E.56,4<\/a>) are derived from this engraving. \u00a0For two caryatids by Du Cerceau related to the engraving, see E.58<\/a>.<\/p>\n

E.69<\/a>. \u00a0Fantuzzi, Frame<\/em>. \u00a0This etching reproduces the left half of the frame of this wall and then shows it in reverse on the other side of the large central oval enclosing a cityscape. \u00a0However, the etching is not based upon the decoration in the gallery. \u00a0It would seem at first that the etching was based on the right half of the Milan-Boyvin engraving with its upper left putto used by Fantuzzi for the two upper corners of his print. \u00a0But there are two details that indicate that this is not the case. \u00a0In the engraving there is drapery around the stucco women\u2019s hips while in the etching there are little mouldings with loops similar to what appears in the gallery. \u00a0Also there is a light band behind the lower figures in Fantuzzi\u2019s etching that runs from the far left to the far right. \u00a0This appears neither in the engraving nor in the gallery. \u00a0In the etching it forms a kind of base that might be thought to make sense under and partly behind the central oval. \u00a0When executed the frame in the gallery was given a similar base in stucco under the central oval\u00a0picture. \u00a0It is quite possible that the drapery around the women\u2019s hips is a decorus addition to the engraving and that the strip at the bottom of Rosso\u2019s design has been eliminated here. \u00a0Fantuzzi\u2019s etching may then actually be based on the same lost drawing and may preserve two details of it that are not found in the Milan-Boyvin engraving.<\/p>\n

One of Du Cerceau\u2019s Grands Cartouches, Second Set (E.56,4<\/a>) is largely based on Fantuzzi\u2019s print with a few details derived from the Milan-Boyvin engraving (E.103<\/a>). \u00a0For two caryatids by Du Cerceau derived from the same sources, see E.58<\/a>.<\/p>\n

COPIES, PAINTINGS: Paris, Galerie Charpentier (formerly?). \u00a0The Nymph of Fontainebleau in a Frame<\/em>. \u00a0See under E.103<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dana\u00eb<\/span><\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n

PREPARATORY DRAWING: Chantilly, Mus\u00e9e Cond\u00e9, no. 135 D. \u00a0Primaticcio, Dana\u00eb <\/em>(Fig.Primaticcio Chantilly<\/a>). \u00a0Dimier, 1900, 447, no. 130. \u00a0Barocchi, 1951, 211, and n. 5, Pl. LXI, Fig. 256. \u00a0Zerner, in EdF<\/em>, 1972, 299, under no. 371. \u00a0B\u00e9guin and Pressouyre, 1972, 132, 133, Fig. 195. \u00a0This squared drawing differs from the fresco primarily in not showing a full statue in the niche in the background.<\/p>\n

PRINT: L\u00e9on Davent (Master L.D.), Dana\u00eb <\/em>(Fig.Davent Dana\u00eb<\/a>). \u00a0Bartsch, XVI, 1818,\u00a0 321, 40. \u00a0Herbet, I, 1886, 71-72 (1969, 20-21), 4. \u00a0Dimier, 1900, 487, no. 4. \u00a0Zerner, 1969, L.D.8. \u00a0Zerner, in EdF<\/em>, 1972, 299-300, no. 371, 302, Fig. \u00a0B\u00e9guin and Pressouyre, 1972, 132. \u00a0This etching, in reverse of the painting, resembles the Chantilly drawing in its details and was probably made from it.<\/p>\n

TAPESTRY: Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, C\/V 1. 332 x 635 (for media, see below). \u00a0This tapestry (Fig.P.22, IV S,Tapestry, a<\/a>; Fig.P.22, IV S,Tapestry, b<\/a>; Fig.P.22, IV S,Tapestry, c<\/a>; Fig.P.22, IV S,Tapestry, d<\/a>) shows the decoration of the wall with the Dana\u00eb<\/em>. \u00a0The central painting is very much elaborated and all the stucco fruit of the frame is shown in color. \u00a0At the bottom the four children at the left wear green, red, and tan drapery respectively. \u00a0Three of the children at the right have blue to pink, green, and tan drapery; the fourth child has none. \u00a0There is a green book leaning against a cylindrical box. \u00a0In the oval scene at the left above, Apollo has red drapery. \u00a0In the other oval Diana wears blue, the serpents are green, and there is green drapery beneath the foreground figure.<\/p>\n

There is a repair above the salamander suggesting that something has been removed (Pressouyre suggested a crown), although nothing appears here in the gallery.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>1<\/sup> McAllister Johnson and Graham, 1958, 9, thought the terms were executed c. 1541 by Primaticcio but there is no documentation to support this suggestion nor does their style indicate his execution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The central oval fresco: c. 1.01 x c. 2.54 m. Fig.P.22, IV S a whole wall Fig.P.22, IV S b left Fig.P.22, IV S c right Fig.P.22, IV S d bw, left, Apollo’s chariot Fig.P.22, IV S e bw, right, Diana’s chariot Fig.P.22, IV S,Tapestry, a bw, whole tapestry Fig.P.22, IV S,Tapestry, b bw, Apollo\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"parent":908,"menu_order":15,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-967","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=967"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9324,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/967\/revisions\/9324"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/rosso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}