Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes

Juan Augustin Ceán Bermúdez;
Don Valentin Carderera;
With H.M. Calmann, London;
With R. E. Lewis,
from whom purchased in 1963 by Dr. and Mrs. David Elterman,
by whose Executors sold, London Christie's, 24 January 2001, lot 92, acquired at the sale by the late Jan Krugier ($140,000)

Los Angeles, Grunwald Graphic Arts Foundation, The Artist looks at Himself, 1966

X. de Salas, 'Portraits of Spanish Artists by Goya', The Burlington Magazine, CVI, January 1964, pp. 16-19, reproduced fig. 6;
P. Gassier and J. Wilson, Vie et Oeuvre de Francisco Goya, l'Oeuvre complet illustré, Fribourg, 1970 (English ed. 1971), no. 698;
P. Gassier, The Drawings of Goya, The Sketches, Studies and Individual Drawings, London, 1975, p. 189, no. 150, reproduced  

Hinged at the top. Overall in good condition. Some small staining along the left margin, and slight discoloration at the top margin. There is a very tiny nick on the edge of the margin almost in the middle. Very litle surface dirt on the lower edge. Red chalk fresh and image delicately drawn but strong. Sold mounted and framed in a modern gilded 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This interesting sheet is part of a series of portrait drawings which according to Carderera were executed by Goya about 1798, and given to Ceán Bermúdez to serve as the basis for illustrations to his Dictionary of Spanish Painters, published in 1800.¹  In the end, the portraits were never engraved and the Dictionary was published without these illustrations.  Cesar Arbasia, the subject of the present drawing, was an Italian painter, a pupil of Zuccaro, whose portrait was to be included in this Dictionary of Spanish Painters because the artist worked in Spain, chiefly at Málaga and Cordova, at the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century.²  Like all the other portraits in this series the present drawing is carefully executed in red chalk, the background finished with delicate horizontal strokes which surround the bust portrait, very much imitating the effect of a print.

Like the other portraits in this series, the present drawing is inscribed in block letters in the lower margin with the name of the artist depicted; this was rather necessary, as many of the artists that Goya represented in these portraits, including Arbasia, were not very well known masters.  As Gassier suggested, it is very likely that Goya owned an earlier print or portrait of Arbasia, on which he could base his own likeness. 

1. P. Gassier, The Drawings of Goya, The Sketches, Studies and Individual Drawings, London, 1975, p. 187
2.  Ibid.