Birth of Adonis
Primary
Marcantonio Franceschini
(Bologna, Italy, 1648–1729)
NationalityItalian, Europe
Date1692
MediumPen and brown ink with brush and gray and brown washes, squared in black chalk, on cream antique laid paper, laid down
DimensionsSheet: 14 15/16 × 10 3/8 in. (37.9 × 26.4 cm)
Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Suida-Manning Collection, 2017.1124
Rights Statement
Collection AreaPrints and Drawings
Object number2017.1124
On View
Not on viewFranceschini brought Bolognese classicism to a late Baroque stage, grand decorative service, and clamorous success in the centers of Italy and across Europe, competing with French academic painting on its own terms. His most important patrons outside Italy were the nobles at the court of Vienna, foremost Johann Adam, Prince of Lichtenstein, who commissioned a good forty works over two decades. The Birth of Adonis, presently located in the Festaal of the Garden Palace at Rossau, was one of the first works sent to the Prince. Unpublished, this drawing is the only extant study for the entire composition. Despite its faded condition, the drawing also gives an idea of Franceschini’s celebrated purity and even temper as a draftsman.
Exhibitions
