Georg Cornicelius (German, 1825-1898) ‘The Pope of Fools’

signed 'Georg Cornicelius' l.l., watercolour and bodycolour, 14 x 19cm; unframed, Georg Cornicelius was a German painter from Hanau who worked for periods in Italy. This work is an early study for one of his most ambitious historical subjects, 'The Pope of Fools', completed circa 1867 and now lost, but known from an old photograph reproduced in A. Merk, 'Georg Cornicelius, 1825–1898, ein Maler in Hanau, sein Leben und Werk', exh. cat., Museum Hanau, Schloss Philippsruhe, 1998–1999, p. 38. The picture's subject is the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, laid bare during the Sack of Rome in 1527 by German landsknechts. The scene is as bawdy as it is brutal. In the left foreground, the mangled body of a ravished nun, perhaps dead, lies in the path of the rioters, while her companion, standing nearby, is manhandled by two soldiers, one of whom mockingly places his helmet upon her head. To the right, a third nun is being seized by another soldier. The horsemen beyond indulge in an orgy of disrespect of a different kind. The central figure, the fool pope, wears a mitre, while his companion raises a tankard of beer in a mocking salute. The building with the detached column on the left is evidently Roman in style, while what may be Bramante's half-finished cupola of St Peter's is glimpsed through the mist on the horizon to the right. Condition Report, Condition Report, Vertical fold to the centre. A little time staining with some slight discolouration to the edges. Slight fading to the washes, commensurate with age. Request A Condition Report, Request A Condition Report

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