1937.8.196: Apse Inscription from Torcello, Italy; verso: Partial Sketch of Figures

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1937.8.196

People

John Singer Sargent, American (Florence, Italy 1856 - 1925 London, England)

Title

Apse Inscription from Torcello, Italy; verso: Partial Sketch of Figures

Classification

Drawings

Work Type

drawing

Date

c. 1897

Culture

American

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/191331

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Graphite on off-white wove paper

Dimensions

6.9 x 24.9 cm (2 11/16 x 9 13/16 in.)

Inscriptions and Marks

• inscription: graphite, in artist's hand: Inscription round apse of Torcello

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

To the artist's sisters, Violet (Mrs. Francis) Ormond and Emily Sargent, at his death, 1925; gift of Mrs. Ormond to the Fogg Art Museum, 1937.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond

Accession Year

1937

Object Number

1937.8.196

Division

European and American Art

Contact

am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Commentary

Inscription reads: FORMULA VIRTUTIS MARIS ASTRUM PORTA SALUTIS / PROLE MARIA LEVAT QUOS CONIUGE SUBDIVIT EVA. The sheet is cut down, as evidenced by the partial sketch on the verso; the figures depicted there appear to be mural-related, possibly for the "Sermon on the Mount;" the figure at the right may be Christ, with three figures at the left reaching for his hand.

Publication History

• Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray, John Singer Sargent: Figures and Landscapes, 1883-1899, Yale University Press (U.S.) (New Haven and London, 2010), p. 314

Verification Level