M arco M archetti D a F aenza
Faenza 1527 - 1588
1. A seated female figure
Pen and brown ink, brown wash
205 x 140 mm
Provenance:
This drawing probably belongs to the artist’s late Roman activity and may be a discarded study for one of
the figures that decorate the ceiling of Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome where he frescoed some allegorical figures
in between Grotesques. Baglione 1 in his life of the artists tells us that he was much sought after for this type of
decoration.
Marco Marchetti (Marcucci in Baglione), known as Marco da Faenza was a painter specialized in Grotesque
work. He was one of the artists who participated in 1553 in the decoration of the rooms of the first floor of
Palazzo Ricci (Sacchetti) in Rome. He was known for his wide-spread activity in Rome and his skill in Grotesque
decoration. In 1564 he was in Faenza where he made his will. In 1565 he works in the Palazzo Vecchio in
Florence where he decorated some rooms and the principal cortile for the entry of Joanna of Austria. In 1565 he
was elected to the Florentine Academy along with Prospero Fontana and Livio Agresti, both assisted him in this
undertaking. In 1570 he was in Rimini where he decorated rooms in various palaces. At the beginning of the
pontificate of Gregory XIII (1572-85) he was in Rome decorating the first cupola in the Vatican and then at the
death of Lorenzo Sabbatini, 1576, he supervised all the Grotesque in the Logge and in the Stanze. The principal
influence on his style seems to have been that of Raffaellino da Reggio who was working in the Logge at the same
time. In 1580 he is recorded in Faenza where he worked in the Monastery of the Osservanti.
( GG )
Actual size