Jacques Callot

Possibly Jean-Denis Lempereur;
Lord Delamere (according to an inscription previously on the verso, no longer visible);
The Phillips Exeter Academy, Andover, Massachusetts,
by whose Trustees sold, London, Christie's, 3 July 1990, lot 104,
where acquired by the late Jan Krugier

Linie, Licht und Schatten, Meisterzeichnungen und Skulpturen der Sammlung Jan und Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, exhib. cat., Berlin, 1999, p. 397 reproduced;
The Timeless Eye. Master Drawings from the Jan and Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski Collection, exhib. cat., Berlin, 1999, p. 397 reproduced;
D. Ternois, Jacques Callot, Catalogue de son oeuvre dessiné, Supplément (1962-1998), Paris 1999, p. 36, no. S. 1492, reproduced

Laid down. Light staining around the outer edges of the sheet, some traces of red chalk (possibly studio stains). A very tiny nick in the sheet at the upper right corner. Otherwise black chalk is still strong and vibrant.
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.

Engraved:
In reverse, as plate 7 of Les Grands Apôtres (Lieure 1305).  An impression of the print is sold with the drawing.

This drawing and the following lot are both preparatory studies for figures in a series of sixteen prints entitled Les Grands Apôtres, engraved by Callot and published by Henriët in 1631.  Three other preparatory studies, for Christ, Saint Andrew and Saint James the Great, were also offered in the Christie's sale in 1990 (see Provenance).  The drawings of The Virgin, Saint Peter and Saint Bartholomew for the same series are in Weimar, and formerly in the Seligman Collection, New York.¹  The  study of Saint Peter at Weimar was formerly in the Lempereur and Delamere collections, and it is likely that the two Krugier collection drawings from this series, as well as the three others from the 1990 sale, were all also owned by Lempereur.

Callot may well have been inspired in this series by Dürer's engravings of Apostles (Bartsch 46-50).

¹  D. Ternois, Jacques Callot, Paris 1962, p. 130, nos. 910-12, all reproduced