Richard's Copy of I, Leonardo by Ralph Steadman

Ralph Steadman can draw pretty much anything; his I, Leonardo from 1983 can by itself stand as proof of his technical mastery if one needed any. Richard's copy, which changed hands recently on AbeBooks, is signed and dated November 14, 1983. Steadman has taken the R of Richard's name and with a few deft lines rendered the top of Leonardo's head; you wouldn't mistake it for anyone else's.  The ink splotches, alas, are printed. The overall condition is graded by the seller as very good.

Ralph Steadman
AbeBooks listing accessed May 12, 2023

https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Leonardo-STEADMAN-Ralph-London-Jonathan-Cape/31504667676/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=viewbook

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Richard Oldden: Making a Masterpiece

Today's group of four cartoon originals by Richard Oldden, sold May 5 on eBay, has not one but two cartoons depicting firing squads. Personally, I think the best of this group has no caption at all and shows us an ingenious invention by one Leonardo.

"Would you mind closing the gate . . . ?"                             [Making a masterpiece]

"Both sentences are to be served concurrently . . . "     "Say! You look great in blue sable . . . "

This time, all four versos bear the New York City stamp.

Richard Oldden
eBay listing ended May 5, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204320195030?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc

Richard Oldden
eBay item description

Richard Oldden
eBay bid history
Seven days, three bidders, six bids, but it's the one placed in the final five seconds that wins it all

Note:  Today I've corrected Dick Oldden's spelling of sable. He is a fantastic draughtsman but he really could have used a dictionary. His punctuation seems a bit shaky as well, avoiding quotation marks and relying too much on ellipses. The publishing history of these cartoons is a mystery to me, but knowing readers are encouraged to provide me with the missing information.

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Dr. and Mrs. Sulzberger's Copy of Freud's Da Vinci by Mark Podwal, M.D.

Freud's Da Vinci was published by Mark Podwal, M.D., in 1977. The back cover blurb reads, "At last! After 400 years...the 'repressed' drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci!" That's an ambitious subject for an illustrator to take on. A copy of the book, recently sold on eBay, comes with its own original drawing, apparently not "repressed."

"For Dr. and Mrs. Sulzberger,
With warmest regards,
Mark Podwal"

Mark Podwal
eBay listing ended July 23, 2021

https://www.ebay.com/itm/143645617661?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Mark Podwal
eBay item description

Another signed copy from Worthpoint comes from the same place in the artist's subconscious. The recipient, Richard Selzer (1928-2016), was a noted professor of surgery at Yale and an author.

"For Richard Selzer
Best wishes,
Mark Podwal"

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/leonardo-da-vinci-sigmund-freuds-da-435893209

Know your physician illustrators! Photo taken January 24, 2016 in Manhattan:

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Charles Addams: Old Master or Modern Master?

Sixty years after its first publication, Christie's put a classic New Yorker original cartoon by Charles Addams up on the auction block. Failing to note where and when it was published, Christie's mistook its year of publication for its year of execution. In order to be published in the January 3, 1959 issue of the magazine, it would have to have been executed in 1958 or perhaps slightly earlier. But no matter. It's a wonderful cartoon anachronism, and one of Renaissance man Addams's best efforts.

"That? Oh, that's nothing. Just something I was fooling around with."
Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, January 3, 1959, page 29

Charles Addams
Christie's June 3, 2019

https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6206672

Spot drawing by Saul Steinberg and Cartoon by Charles Addams

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1959-01-03/flipbook/028/

Composition in White, Black, and Red (Paris, 1936)
Piet Mondrian
Museum of Modern Art, New York

Addams isn't the only cartoonist on this page of The New Yorker playing games with time.

Saul Steinberg

Note:  I have been unable to identify Addams's source for the Madonna and Child painting. Please let me know if you recognize it.

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Florence 2019: The Uffizi Gallery

On the morning of July 11, 2019, we visited the Uffizi Gallery. Some of the great works—by Botticelli, for example—were not on display, but there was still plenty to see.

The Uffizi Gallery, named for the Medici offices it occupies

Benvenuto Cellini

Hercules Slaying the Centaur Nessus
Roman centaur torso with extensive Renaissance centaur restoration
and Renaissance Hercules by Giovanni Caccini

Hercules Slaying the Centaur Nessus
Roman centaur torso with extensive Renaissance centaur restoration
and a Renaissance Hercules by Giovanni Caccini

Adoration by Filippo Lippi

Madonna and Child with Two Angels by Filippo Lippi

Portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Uribino by Piero della Francesca

Venus and Cupid
Roman marble

Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Giampietrino

Across the Arno

The view towards the Palazzo Vecchio and the dome of Florence Cathedral

The Medicis had their own private upper-level crossing over the Ponte Vecchio
which could take them to the Pitti Palace.

Adoration of the Magi by Ghirlandaio

Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci, unfinished

Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci

The Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verocchio and his apprentice Leonardo da Vinci

Apprentice Leonardo painted the angel in profile, the background, and Jesus' body.

Doni Tondo, Michelangelo's only completed panel painting, depicts the Holy Family.

Pan and Daphnis
Greek marble

Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Laocoon Group, also called Laocoon and His Sons, by Baccio Bandinelli after the Hellenistic original

The Palazzo Vecchio seen from the rooftop cafeteria tables at the Uffizi

The dome of Florence Cathedral seen from the rooftop cafeteria tables at the Uffizi

Woman Washing the Dishes ("The Scullery Maid")
Giuseppi Maria Crespi

Image added April 10, 2020

The Madonna with the Long Neck by Parmigianino

The Risen Christ by Titian

Portrait of Gabrielle d’Estrées with One of Her Sisters, Bathing
School of Fontainbleau

Venus and Cupid by Titian

Venus of Urbino by Titian

Venus of Urbino by Titian

Gaddi Torso

Medusa by Caravaggio

Medusa by Caravaggio

Bacchus by Caravaggio

Self-Portrait by Rembrandt

Portrait of a Young Man by Rembrandt

For sale in the gift shop

Fountain of Neptune

Time for Lunch

Sandwich shop

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