Gastine - Deposition Of Christ, According To Fra Bartolomeo

circa 1845 Pen and brown ink, black pencil, squared Sheet slightly creased on the outer margins, ink stains Stamp with the artist's initials CAG at the bottom left

Our study for a large composition is inspired by a painted painting by Fra Bartolomeo (1572-1517), nicknamed the Pietà Pitti, executed for the convent of San Gallo in Florence and now kept in the Florentine collections of the Palazzo Pitti at the Galleria Palatina. Three centuries later, we find in our drawing the peaceful and moving gentleness emanating from the same inanimate body, captured by the figure of Saint John sketched in black pencil, which the grace of each of the two artists was able to capture and transcribe . Our drawing demonstrates the extraordinary graphic mastery of Camille-Auguste Gastine, while this interesting squaring testifies to his taste and skill for monumental painting.
Ill. 1. Fra Bartolomeo, Lamentation, oil on canvas, 158 x 199 cm, Palazzo Pitti, Florence.