18th-century Drawing By Ramón Perellós, Grand Master Of Malta; Preparatory Study For A Print

18th-Century Drawing, Grand Master of Malta Ramón Perellós, Preparatory Study for a Print

Italy, 18th century
Graphite, black chalk, coloured pencil and red chalk on laid, watermarked paper
Watermark of a paper mill from Colle di Val d’Elsa, Tuscany
38 × 25.5 cm
Provenance: an old portfolio of drawings preserved in a Tuscan residence

An 18th-century drawing most probably representing Fra’ Ramón Perellós y Roccaful (1637–1720), Grand Master of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem from 1697 to 1720.

The paper itself provides important evidence for the dating and origin of the drawing. The laid paper bears the watermark of a paper mill from Colle di Val d’Elsa, Tuscany. The sheet also comes from an important old portfolio of drawings preserved in a Tuscan residence, comprising academic studies, decorative projects, architectural drawings and anatomical studies. Taken together, these material elements support an Italian origin and an 18th-century date.

The sitter is shown in armour, wearing the large white eight-pointed cross of the Order of Malta on his chest, before a red drapery and an opening onto a maritime landscape. His physiognomy and attributes closely correspond to the known iconography of Ramón Perellós, whose likeness was disseminated through paintings and engravings during the 18th century.

The sheet has the character of a preparatory drawing. Certain areas are highly finished, while others remain at the preliminary sketch stage.

A second drawing from the same portfolio contains a design for the decorative frame intended to surround the portrait: a large cartouche accompanied by columns, a helmet, laurel, cannons, and military and maritime trophies. The presence of both sheets within the same collection strengthens the hypothesis that they represent different stages of a single graphic project, probably conceived for a commemorative or official print dedicated to the Grand Master.

The drawing is presented in a 19th-century ebonised wooden frame and mounted on acid-free conservation board.