- 252
Leendert van der Cooghen
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 USD
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Description
- Leendert van der Cooghen
- Mars seen from behind
- Black chalk and brown and gray wash, within black chalk framing lines, indented for transfer;signed with initials in black chalk, lower left: LVC and dated upper left: 1664-bears numbering in brown ink, verso: N82
- 179 by 117 mm; 7 1/8 by 4 5/8 in
Provenance
Possibly Jean Bernard, Amsterdam,
possibly his sale, Amsterdam, De Vries...Roos, 24ff., November 1834, Album N, lot 1 ("Een krijgsman met een helm op het hoofd, meesterlijk en fraai met zw. Kr. En O.I. Inkt;");
Bert E Sternfeld, Aerdenhout, by 1987,
from whom acquired by the late owner
possibly his sale, Amsterdam, De Vries...Roos, 24ff., November 1834, Album N, lot 1 ("Een krijgsman met een helm op het hoofd, meesterlijk en fraai met zw. Kr. En O.I. Inkt;");
Bert E Sternfeld, Aerdenhout, by 1987,
from whom acquired by the late owner
Literature
B.L. Coenen, 'The Drawings of the Haarlem Amateur Leendert van der Cooghen,' Master Drawings, vol. XLIII, no. 1 (2005), pp. 31 and 63-64, cat. no. A6, reproduced, p. 35, fig. 37
Condition
Laid down along the left edge to the remains of an old album page, which has in turn been hinged to a modern mount. There is some very light scattered foxing throughout the sheet and a light brown stain to the upper left corner. The drawing is in otherwise excellent condition, with the combination of media fresh and vibrant throughout. Sold in an antique Dutch darkwood frame.
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.
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
The present sheet, executed by the talented Haarlem based amateur, Leendert van der Cooghen, is undoubtedly the most significant work to have appeared on the market by the artist in recent years. Depicting Mars seen from behind, the drawing is a great rarity even within the context of Cooghen’s small graphic oeuvre, due to the fact that it was created in preparation for the artist’s etching of the same subject (fig.1), one of only three works from his corpus of drawings known to function in this fashion. Both the Haverkamp-Begemann drawing and the resulting etching are predated by an impressive sheet in the collection of Lord Cavendish at Holker Hall, depicting the Battle between the Horatii and Curiatii.1 Dating to 1658, the Cavendish drawing must have pleased Cooghen, who subsequently reused the figure of a soldier seen from behind, from the right side of the composition, as a template for the present work, which dates to 1664.
History had, until recently, remembered Cooghen as something of an artistic dilettante, thanks in part to Arnold Houbraken’s entry for the artist in the first volume of De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstchilders en schilderessen. Here Houbraken describes in somewhat humorous terms, that Cooghen "did not have to paint to earn his living.....only if he felt like it" which resulted, somewhat predictably, in the artist not making “as many works as would have made him famous outside his native town of Haarlem.”2 It is quite true that Cooghen’s graphic oeuvre is incredibly slim, with Coenen (see Literature), accepting only three paintings, some sixty six drawings, and ten etchings by the artist.3 However, despite this small body of work, it is quite clear that Cooghen was, in fact, a highly accomplished artist, whose surviving drawings, in particular, attest to his consistently high artistic standards.
1. Coenen, op. cit., p. 59, no. A45, reproduced, p. 34, fig. 36
2. Ibid., p. 5
3. Ibid.
History had, until recently, remembered Cooghen as something of an artistic dilettante, thanks in part to Arnold Houbraken’s entry for the artist in the first volume of De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstchilders en schilderessen. Here Houbraken describes in somewhat humorous terms, that Cooghen "did not have to paint to earn his living.....only if he felt like it" which resulted, somewhat predictably, in the artist not making “as many works as would have made him famous outside his native town of Haarlem.”2 It is quite true that Cooghen’s graphic oeuvre is incredibly slim, with Coenen (see Literature), accepting only three paintings, some sixty six drawings, and ten etchings by the artist.3 However, despite this small body of work, it is quite clear that Cooghen was, in fact, a highly accomplished artist, whose surviving drawings, in particular, attest to his consistently high artistic standards.
1. Coenen, op. cit., p. 59, no. A45, reproduced, p. 34, fig. 36
2. Ibid., p. 5
3. Ibid.