Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)

Details

Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)

The Arms of the House of Medici impaling those of the Archduchy of Austria with the Cross of the Order of Santo Stefano in Chief

black chalk, pen and brown ink, in an inscribed oval, on light brown paper, losses
189 x 133mm.

Provenance

W. Bates (L. 2604)
Anon. sale, Sotheby's, 13 March 1975, lot 179, illustrated (¨70 as Stefano della Bella)

Exhibited

Kendal, Abbot Hall Art Gallery, 16th and 17th Century Italian Drawings, 1981, no. 23, illustrated

Lot Essay

The arms are of Francesco I de'Medici (1541-1587) and his wife Archduchess Giovanna d'Austria (1547-1578), sister of the Emperor Maximilian II. The Order of Santo Stefano was founded by Grand Duke Cosimo I, to protect Tuscan shipping from Barbary pirates. The present drawing may be related to the decorations erected in Florence for the celebration of the marriage of Francesco de'Medici and Giovanna d'Austria in December 1565

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