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1 of 253523 objects
Attributed to Vincenzo Leonardi (1589/90-1646)
European pelican 1635
Watercolour and bodycolour over black chalk | 36.4 x 45.2 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 928746
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A watercolour and bodycolour drawing of the European pelican, also known as the Great White pelican. The bird is shown full length in profile to the right. The drawing is enclosed within wash border lines. The pelican is an occasional visitor to the coast of Italy. This bird had been shot in marshes near Rome and brought to Cassiano in 1635. He commissioned a drawing of the whole pelican, together with a life-size detail of the head and then had the bird dissected. On measuring the capacity of the pouch Cassiano found that it could contain ‘fourteen pounds of water easily’.
Provenance
Commissioned by Cassiano dal Pozzo; from whose heirs purchased by Pope Clement XI, 1703; his nephew, Alessandro Albani, 1714; from whom purchased by George III, 1762 and thence by descent to King George V (dispersed from Royal Library between the two World Wars); London art market (most via dealer Jacob Mendelson); James R. Herbert Boone (American collector); bequeathed to Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore in 1983; Sotheby’s New York, 16 September 1988; Queen Elizabeth II
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
Commissioner(s)
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Medium and techniques
Watercolour and bodycolour over black chalk
Measurements
36.4 x 45.2 cm (sheet of paper)
Other number(s)
RL 28746Alternative title(s)
European pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus)
