Leonardo Grazia da Pistoia
Lucretia
Oil on canvas (relined). 56 x 45 cm.
The present painting is an interesting addition to the oeuvre of Leonardo Grazia, a painter mentioned by Giorgio Vasari in his account of the life of Giovan Francesco Penni as "Lionardo detto il Pistoia". The artist, who combined the influence of Raphael, Giulio Romano and Jacopino del Conte in his works, was active in Rome and Naples, where he ran a successful workshop. The present canvas is a variation of a painting on slate now housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, which is of similar dimensions but is painted on a different support. Elements such as the shape of the chin and the jawline differ so much in the two works that the present painting should be regarded as an independent derivation rather than a mere reproduction of a successful original. A third replica is known (at Piacenti, London 2007): although it displays some differences in composition, elements such as the stereotypical facial features and the rendering of forms using sharp lighting are common to all three works and very characteristic of Grazia's oeuvre.
We are grateful to professor Marco Ciampolini and professor Alessandro Delpriori for independently endorsing the attribution.
The painting has been published by dott Matteo Cicchett in the online article “A proposito di Leonardo Grazia da Pistoia (1502 – post 1551)”, Academia.edu, 2023:
https://www.academia.edu/107414021/A_proposito_di_Leonardo_Grazia_da_Pistoia_1502_post_1551_