Old Master Drawings

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Lot 26
  • 26

David Vinckboons

Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 GBP
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Description

  • David Vinckboons
  • a) jesus questioned by the followers of john the baptist;b) the entry of christ into jerusalem, and the healing of the leper

  • a) Pen and brown ink and grey and blue wash;
    b) Pen and brown ink and wash over traces of black chalk,
    bears numbering, verso: a b (or 6) / no 109 (or 105);
    both indented for transfer

Provenance

a) Bears the mark (L.474), previously associated with Pierre Crozat, and now suggested to be that of Joseph Gulston (London 1745-1786);
Vice-Admiral Lord Mark Kerr;
in an album of about 140 sheets which was inherited by his daughter, Letitia Louise Kerr;
Lady Helen McDonnell;
Sir Malcolm MacGregor, 4th Bart.;
b) private collection, The Netherlands;
a) and b) Jacobus A. Klaver, Amsterdam (bears his mark, not in Lugt, on the backing), his sale, Amsterdam, Sotheby Mak van Waay, 10 May 1994, lot 17

Exhibited

Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet, Tekeningen van oude meesters. De verzameling Jacobus A. Klaver, 1993 (catalogue by Marijn Schapelhouman and Peter Schatborn), no. 11a, 11b

Condition

Both unframed a) a very slight nick to the upper right, but otherwise in excellent condition, the blue wash still fresh. b) Laid down on an old mount. The sheet is somewhat yellowed, and a little foxed, but the drawing still makes a good impression.
"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."

Catalogue Note

Although both these drawings are indented and must have been used in the preparation of prints, in neither case has any such print been identified.  The subject of the first drawing is a rarely-illustrated episode from St. Luke's Gospel in which John the Baptist sent two of his students to Jesus to ask if He were really the Messiah.  Though reversed, the composition of this drawing relies on that of a print by Anton Wierix, plate 32 in the Evangelicae Historiae Imagines, a series of more than 150 illustrations of the life of Christ published by the Antwerp Jesuits in 1593.1  The popularity of these prints was such that it is very probable that Vinckboons knew, or even owned, them.  The composition of the second of the present drawings bears far less resemblance to that of the corresponding scene in the Evangelicae Historiae Imagines.

Stylistically, these two studies can be associated with several drawings by Vinckboons from the early 1610s;  the penmanship is very comparable with the 1611 drawing of 'The mountain brought forth a mouse' in Rotterdam2 and with two other sheets, probably also from the same year, in Frankfurt.3

1.  See M. Mauquoy-Hendrickx, Les Estampes des Wierix, 4 vols., Brussels 1982, nos. 1989-2141
2.  Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, inv. 1948/T 17
3.  Städelsches Kunstinstitut, inv. 2769 and 2770