Timotheus Playing the Lyre before Alexander and Thaïs in the Hall of the Palace at Persepolis, c. 1820

Not on View

Medium

pen and brown ink with gray wash over black chalk and graphite, squared for transfer, on two joined sheets of wove paper

Dimensions

overall: 56.1 x 78.5 cm (22 1/16 x 30 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of William B. O'Neal, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art

Accession Number

1991.150.21

Artists / Makers

Pietro Fancelli (artist) Bolognese, 1764 - 1850

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Inscription

along right side, in pen and brown ink: Un uomo con un ornamento sul capo che / sembra una corona, ed accompagnato / da due donne, una delle quali ha un [illeg.] / [illeg.] nel capo, e l'altra tiene nelle ma- / ni alcune insegne autorevoli / Chardin / [illeg.] / LeBrun / Un uomo che amazza un / Toro che ha un corno nella fronte / tenuto forte colla sinistra mano / e colla destra immerse un pu- / gnale nel ventro / Un uomo uccide un Leone / tenuto per la chioma colla / sinistra ecc. / Portico / Pilastri / Palazzo / Capitello / di bianco marmo / Platani / Palmi / Mitra ed il sole / Persepoli, fra le sue / rovine vedesi in un bassorilievo / due animali simili ad un / cavallo, con una sola SEE COMMENTARY FOR INSCRIPTION CONTINUATION

Provenance

La Sociéte Historique et Littéraire Polonaise, Paris (sale London, Christie's, 4 July 1972, lot 36); Seiferheld and Co., New York; William B. O'Neal [1907-1994], Charlottesville, VA, January, 1973; gift to NGA, 1991.

Associated Names

O'Neal, William B., Professor
Seiferheld, Helene C.
Sociéte Historique et Littéraire Polonaise, La

Exhibition History

1973: Master Drawings from the Collection of William B. O'Neal, Walter Cecil Rawls Museum, Courtland, VA and tour, 1973-1975.

1993: Drawings from the O'Neal Collection. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1993, 25.

1996: Drawings from the O'Neal Collection, Georgia Museum of Art, The University of Georgia, Athens, 4 May-16 June, 1996.

2014: From Neoclassicism to Futurism: Italian Prints and Drawings, 1800- 1925, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2014 - 2015.

Bibliography

1975: "Drawings for Theater and Architecture: A Special View of a Noted Virginia Collection of Master Drawings," Arts in Virginia, 15 (Spring 1975), 2, 6-7 (illus.).