The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Allegorical Figure

Allegorical Figure

c. 1635
(Italian, 1581?-1644)
Sheet: 37.3 x 26.2 cm (14 11/16 x 10 5/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Drawings by Bernardo Strozzi are exceedingly scarce, especially full worked-up preparatory drawings such as this study for Minerva.

Description

The Genoese painter Bernardo Strozzi drew this female figure in preparation for one of his major oil paintings, also in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art (1929.133). Recent scholarship has convincingly identified the subject as Minerva. The Roman goddess of war has put aside her armor for more contemplative pursuits; her upward gaze—as if seeking inspiration—recalls her other associations with wisdom, eloquence, and the arts. The figure is one of a number of single female figures associated with intellectual and artistic pursuits made by Strozzi in the 1630s when he lived and worked in Venice. Such works appealed to his learned patrons in northern Italy.
  • 1644?-ca. 1654
    possibly to Strozzi's pupil Ermanno Stroiffi (1616-1693), Venice
    ca. 1654
    "Borghese"-Sagredo collection, Venice (Lugt 2103a, with associated inscription "P.G. no. 35")
    -1729
    by descent to Zaccaria Sagredo (1653-1729), Venice
    1729-1738
    by descent to his nephew, Gherardo Sagredo (died 1738)
    1953
    with Hans M. Calmann (1899-1982), London
    1953-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Jane S., ed. The Dictionary of Art, vol. 29. New York: Grove, 1996. Mentioned: p. 784
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Venetian Tradition: Catalogue of the Exhibition. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1956. Mentioned: p. 41, n. 76
    "Accessions of American and Canadian Museums." Art Quarterly 19, no. 3 (Autumn 1956): 302-306. Mentioned: p. 306; Reproduced: p. 304
    Comstock, Helen. "A Drawing by Bernardo Strozzi." The Connoisseur 138, no. 557 (November 1956): 211-212. Mentioned: pp. 211-212; Reproduced: p. 212
    Francis, Henry S. "A Drawing for Strozzi's 'Minerva.' " The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 43, no. 6 (June 1956): 123-126. Mentioned: pp. 123-126; Reproduced: p. 124 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 573 archive.org
    Cummings, Frederick J., ed. Art in Italy 1600-1700. Detroit, MI: The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1965. Mentioned: pp. 177-178; Reproduced: p. 177, n. 204
    Mahon, Denis. "Stock-taking in Seicento Studies." Apollo 82, no. 45 (November 1965): 378-391. Mentioned: p. 386; Reproduced: p. 384, n. 8
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 115 archive.org
    Mortari, Luisa. Bernardo Strozzi. [Rome]: De Luca, 1966. Mentioned: pp. 61, 99, 219; Reproduced: n. 474
    Matteucci, Anna Maria. Bernardo Strozzi. Milan: Fratelli Fabbri, 1966. Mentioned: p. 7, n. 4
    Milkovich, M. Bernardo Strozzi: Paintings and Drawings. Binghamton, NY: University Art Gallery, State University of New York at Binghamton, 1968. Mentioned: pp. 12, 72, 86; Reproduced: p. 87, n. 37
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 115 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 136 archive.org
    Meder, Joseph. The Mastery of Drawing, vol. 2. Translated by Winslow Ames. New York: Abaris Books, 1978. Mentioned: p. 302; Reproduced: n. 153
    Johnson, Mark M. Idea to Image: Preparatory Studies from the Renaissance to Impressionism. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1980. Mentioned: pp. 45-47; Reproduced: p. 46, n. 51
    Pignatti, Terisio. Disegni antichi del Museo Correr di Venezia: catalogo, vol. 1. Vicenza: Nera Pozzi, 1980. Mentioned: p. 24
    Lurie, Ann T., ed. European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries: The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part Three. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 421, n. 184a
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 93 archive.org
    Chong, Alan. European & American Painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art: A Summary Catalogue. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1993. Mentioned: p. 229
    Newcome, Mary. "Oil Sketches and Drawings by Strozzi." antichità viva 32, no. 6 (1993): 14-24. Mentioned: p. 21
    Gavazza, Ezia, Giovanna Nepi Sciré, and Giovanna Rotondi Terminiello. Bernardo Strozzi: Genova 1581/82-Venezia 1644. Milan: Electa, 1995. Mentioned: pp. 222, 280-281, 304; Reproduced: p. 305
    Mortari, Luisa. Bernardo Strozzi. Rome: De Luca, 1995. Mentioned: p. 201; Reproduced: p. 223, n. 2
    DeGrazia, Diane, and Carter E. Foster. Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with Rizzoli International Publications: New York, 2000. Mentioned: P. 56; Reproduced: P. 57, cat. no. 18
    Strozzi, Bernardo, Anna Orlando, and Daniele Sanguineti. Bernardo Strozzi, 1582-1644: la conquista del colore. Genova : Sagep editori, 2019. Mentioned: p/. 362; Reproduced: p. 360, p. 365, fig. 7
    Bober, Jonathan, Piero Boccardo, and Franco Boggero. Superbarocco: arte a Genova da Rubens a Magnasco. Milano : Skira, 2022. Mentioned: p. 292, 297; reproduced: p. 296, no. 82
  • Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002).
    Bernardo Strozzi: Genova 1581/82-Venezia 1644. Palazzo Ducale (Genova), Genova, Italy (May 6-August 6, 1995).
    Concept, Dogma and Feeling: Italian Drawings 1550-1650. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 20, 1991).
    Italian Drawings from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 16, 1986-March 1, 1987).
    Connoisseurship in Italian Figural Compositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 1980-February 15, 1981).
    Idea to Image: Preparatory Studies from the Renaissance to Impressionism. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 19-March 23, 1980).
    Old Master Drawings from American Collections. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (organizer) (April 29-June 13, 1976).
    Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 11-October 21, 1968).
    Italian Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 30-February 25, 1968).
    Bernardo Strozzi: Paintings and Drawings. University Art Museum, Binghamton, NY (organizer) (October 8-November 5, 1967).
    Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 9, 1967-January 1, 1968).
    Prints and Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 29-June 6, 1967).
    Old Master Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 29, 1966-February 28, 1967).
    Art in Italy, 1600-1700. The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (organizer) (April 6-May 9, 1965).
    Art in Italy, 1600-1700. The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (organizer) (April 6-May 9, 1965).
    Old Master Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 10-31, 1964).
    Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 11-September 10, 1963).
    Italian and French Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 13, 1959-February 2, 1960).
    The Venetian Tradition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 8, 1956-January 1, 1957).
  • {{cite web|title=Allegorical Figure|url=false|author=Bernardo Strozzi|year=c. 1635|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1953.626