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an image of a drawing of a group of people in a fielda picture of a piece of cardboard on a table
Dams Casa d'Aste

3 - Episode from the Stories of Moses, probably ‘The Gathering o…
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Estimate €400 - €800
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Description
Episode from the Stories of Moses, probably ‘The Gathering of Manna’; Roman School, second half of the 16th century. Brown ink, brown wash and white highlights on prepared paper, 225 x 374 mm A large composition populated by numerous figures, some of whom are busy gathering and carrying food in baskets, amphorae and other containers, organised according to a tightly structured and highly dynamic narrative framework. The subject appears to be based on an episode from the Stories of Moses, most likely the Gathering of Manna.The sheet forms part of the sixteenth-century revival of Polidoro da Caravaggio’s inventions, which were widely copied and reinterpreted following the dispersal and gradual deterioration of the famous Roman monochrome decorations. The almost frieze-like composition of the scene, the crowding of figures, the preference for energetic and strongly foreshortened poses, and the use of a marked contrast of light and shadow achieved through washes and highlights of white lead all point directly to the Polidoro tradition.Significant parallels can be identified in various sixteenth-century drawings derived from Polidoro’s lost compositions on the Stories of Moses, now held at the Louvre, the Morgan Library and the Prado Museum. In particular, the technique on primed paper, using pen, brown wash and white highlights, bears close resemblance to the Roman copies after Polidoro produced during the second half of the 16th century, sometimes attributed to artists associated with the Zuccari circle and Cherubino Alberti.
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About the sale Paintings and Drawings from the 15th to the 19th century
Auction location
Auction time 10/29/2026 at 3:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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