Description
Gherardo Cibo was more botanist than professional artist. The compiler of least five volumes of dried plant specimens collected in the Marches (central-eastern) region of Italy, Cibo made drawings in order to record the habitats where he collected plants. He executed this drawing in the field, annotating, at upper left, the dried cornflower (concia fior da liso) he had gathered on the spot. Though Cibo learned to draw landscapes at an early age when he visited Northern Europe, this sheet reveals his knowledge of Florentine and Venetian models.
Provenance
Gherardo Cibo, sketchbook inscribed "Libero 24" and dated October 1567 [the inscription transcribed by the Morgan Library, New York, when parts of sketchbook sold by Colnaghi in 1971]. (P & D. Colnaghi & Co., as Messer Ulisse Severino da Cingoli, Exhibition of Old Master Drawings, 1971, no. 11]. [Michael Miller Lucy Vivante Fine Arts Inc., New York, 1996].
Accession Number
1997.37
Medium
pen and brown ink (iron gall)
Dimensions
Sheet: 14.4 x 21.2 cm (5 11/16 x 8 3/8 in.); Secondary Support: 22.4 x 28.7 cm (8 13/16 x 11 5/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund