Sydney librarian discovers rare drawing by Renaissance artist
An Italian Renaissance painter, Giorgione’s life was shrouded in mystery for centuries, with his age and exact date of death remaining unknown - until now.
Julie Sommerfeldt and Kim Wilson with the 1497 book. Credit: Sarah Lorien.
Kim Wilson discovered the red chalk drawing of the Madonna and Child on the back page of a 1497 copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy in the University of Sydney’s Rare Books collection. The drawing is one of only three attributed to Giorgione, the others residing in Rotterdam and New York.
Giorgione’s sketch of the Madonna and Child and the inscription.
“It’s in a part of the book you’d never normally turn to and the drawing looked like a confident master hand,” said Ms Wilson, an Academic Liaison Librarian at the University of Sydney.
“Giorgione is as important an artist as Leonardo da Vinci but only a fraction of works are known to be in his hand,” said Emeritus Professor Jaynie Anderson from the University of Melbourne. “This discovery will have a transformative effect on the way Venetian art history is written.”
After discovering the drawing, Ms Wilson sought the expertise of Emeritus Professor Nerida Newbigin from the University’s Department of Italian Studies, to translate the inscription written in 16th century Venetian dialect at the top of the page on which the drawing appears.
Translated, it reads:
"1510 Ihs Maria
On the day of 17 September, Giorgione of Castelfranco, a very excellent artist died of the plague in Venice at the age of 36 and he rests in peace."
Together with Julie Sommerfeldt, Manager of the University’s Rare Books and Special Collections, and Emeritus Professor Jaynie Anderson, Giorgione expert from the University of Melbourne, Ms Wilson and Professor Newbigin wrote an article explaining the attribution to Giorgione, which will be published in the prestigious Burlington Magazine on 1 March.
“Not only does this give the precise date of Giorgione’s death, but also indicates a birth date, providing bookends to his life,” said Professor Anderson.
The 1497 copy of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy in the University of Sydney’s Rare Books and Special Collections. The volume has a gold-tooled inboard binding, which has been repaired, possibly in the 20th century. Credit: Sarah Lorein.
“This is particularly significant given he was said to have had an ‘impossible biography’ for centuries…this find will allow art historians to rewrite Giorgione’s place in history.”
The article also suggests Giorgione, who was one of the founding fathers of the Venetian school of Italian Renaissance art, may have owned the copy of Dante’s famous text.
The discovery gives a very rare understanding of how a Renaissance artist read and reacted to a text.
“This astonishing find highlights the potential for these kinds of serendipitous discoveries when working with Rare Books and heritage collections, and the hidden gems waiting to be discovered in libraries worldwide,” said Julie Sommerfeldt.
Kim Wilson, Academic Liaison Librarian at the University of Sydney, discovered the book in late 2017. Credit: Sarah Lorien.
“The fact that the sketch remained protected in the pages of a book for so long and then survived at least one rebinding is very fortunate,” said Kim Wilson.
The authors explain the drawing may represent a precursor to Giorgione’s The Holy Family in the National Gallery of Art in Washington or Adoration of the Magi (Kings), in London’s National Gallery. Curators at both galleries backed the findings.
Despite significant research, so far the date the University of Sydney Library obtained the book remains unknown. However, the authors note, “records indicate the book was a donation to the library sometime between 1914 and 1959, probably after 1928”.
The newly-discovered drawing will undergo further analysis in late March, when the Australian Synchrotron will use a non-destructive technique, x-ray fluorescence, to analyse the ink and chalk. This process might give the researchers insight into details on Giorgione’s technique as well as comparison of the ink used in the inscription, with instances of underlined text also found throughout the book.
“There’s many parts of this Renaissance art puzzle that we’re still piecing together but that’s part of the joy of this discovery,” said Julie Sommerfeldt.
The Library has digitised Divine Comedy in its entirety, including the sketch, as part of its ongoing program of increasing access to these unique materials. The digital copy will be available from 27 February and will sit alongside other digitised treasures, including an annotated first edition of Isaac Newton’s Principia, and the Henry Lawson manuscript collection.
