A stunning, highly detailed, bizarre, and erotic work by the brilliant illustrator Fortunino Matania. This historically accurate and technically remarkable drawing depicts a climactic moment recounted in Machiavelli’s The Prince. Text on verso reads “Gio Matteo Curing the daughter of Amedia.” The scene depicts an erotic yet twisted exorcism, which is both incredibly intricate and almost photo-realistic in composition. This original ink & pencil on illustration board retains Matania’s address and text on verso. The work is in fine supple condition with no defects, and comes French matted and framed in a period gold gesso fine gallery frame. This most likely was created to accompany an excerpt from Machiavelli’s Renaissance masterpiece printed in Britannia & Eve magazine.

Along with Britannia & Eve Matania was a frequent illustrator for Nash’s Magazine, The Pictorial Review , The Graphic, MacCleans and The Sphere. He also illustrated several military themed books on the Spanish-American war and both World Wars. His style is mindful of Harrison Fisher and Orson Lowell yet stylistically distinct and often even surpasses the work of these frequently cited contemporaries.