Lot 50
  • 50

Johann Friedrich Overbeck

Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 USD
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Description

  • Johann Friedrich Overbeck
  • the way to calvary
  • Watercolor heightened with gold, over black chalk;
    bears pencil inscription, verso: S. B.o. Arg grande al netto

Condition

Unframed. Overall the watercolour is fresh. It has retained the original colouring, which is subtle, but richer than appears in the catalogue illustraion. Foxing is visible, particularly in the upper part and towards the left edge. A small vertical tear is visible at the centre of the upper edge (as seen in illustration). A tiny loss at the lower left corner and a few abrasions to the surface, at the top left margin and in a few other spots across the sheet. Generally in very good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

This exceptional watercolor by the Nazarene artist Friedrich Overbeck is a very rare finished work, which must have formed part of a series representing the Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross). We are extremely grateful to Dr. Hinrich Sieveking for confirming the attribution to Overbeck, and for providing the information that forms the basis of the following note.

It appears that Overbeck executed at least three different Via Crucis series during the course of his career.  One of these, recorded by Margaret Howitt in her 1886 monograph on the artist, was a commission awarded to Overbeck in 1850 by Signor Carlo Baldeschi and the Marchese Campana.That series consisted of fourteen elaborate watercolors heightened with gold, for which the agreed price was '50 luigi in oro' per sheet.  The artist only completed the project some seven years later, in Ariccia, although the watercolour of Christ falling under the Cross (the subject of the present work), was the second that he executed, and was finished rather earlier, some time between 1850 and 1853.  Subsequently owned by Pope Pius IX (Mastai-Ferretti 1846-1878), the watercolors hung for some time in an audience room in the Vatican, and are preserved today in the Cappella del Museo Lateranense, Rome.2 They were also engraved by Bartoccini. 

A second series of drawings by Overbeck representing the Via Crucis, smaller in scale and executed in monochrome wash rather than watercolor, is now in the Albertina, Vienna.  The present drawing must originate from a third, otherwise unknown series of large-scale watercolors with the same theme. Stylistically it appears to originate from an earlier period of the artist's career, as there are clear similarities with his decorations of the Casino Massimo, the Roman residence of Prince Fabrizio Massimo.  Although that secular project is one of Overbeck's most impressive early works, it seems that he became increasingly uncomfortable and dissatisfied while working on it, and following the sudden death in 1827 of his patron, the artist swiftly abandoned the whole project, leaving it unfinished. It seems that after about 1828, Overbeck devoted himself entirely to the representation of religious subjects, and he appears to have been particularly moved by this episode from the Passion of Christ.

1.  M. Howitt, Friedrich Overbeck, Freiburg-im-Breisgau 1886, vol. II, p. V,  pp. 244-9, 429
2.  K. Andrews, The Nazarenes, A brotherhood of German painters in Rome, Oxford 1964, p. 129, reproduced pl. 70