St Benedict and three nuns

A reversed etching by Saverio Salvioni of a drawing depicting St Benedict and three nuns catalogued by Ruland (1876) as being then in the collection of the Count Ferretti de Presle and now at the Palais du Beaux-Arts, Lille (inv. no. 364), where is catalogued as after Raphael (?). This print is lettered at the bottom of the image with the title. Signed by the printmaker with production details. Trimmed within the platemark. Annotated on the verso.

As Pouncey and Gere (see Bibliographic References) noted, Pluchart (1889) mentioned a print by S. Salvioni made in 1805 after a drawing that he then attributed to Pinturicchio, possibly referring to the etching here catalogued.

The drawing reproduced in this print is similar to a pen and ink drawing now in the British Museum, London (inv. no. 1909,1020.1), attributed to Timoteo Viti. For a photograph of this drawing, see RCIN 852299.

The drawing was originally attributed to Timoteo Viti by Antaldi, an attribution Ruland (1876) accepted. Pouncey and Gere noted: "the quality of the composition, particularly the contrasted attitudes of the three seated nuns, is such as to make one think of the youthful Raphael. The fact that no fewer than three old copies have survived suggests that it was well known. If realized, it was perhaps as a predella or a refectory fresco. Any Antaldi attribution to Viti deserves serious consideration. We are inclined to accept this largely because of the faces of the two seated nuns and the characteristic tendency towards firmness in the contours and softness in the shading" (see Bibliographic References). The copies they mentioned include one at the Palais du Beaux-Arts, Lille (see RCINs 852300 and 852301) and another at Perugia, in the Accademia di Belle Arti.