Jan de Bisschop

Emile E. Wolf;
sale, Amsterdam, Christie's, 25 November 1991, lot 87;
Jacobus A. Klaver, Amsterdam

Ithaca, New York, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Dutch Drawings of the Seventeenth Century from a Collection, 1979, cat. no. 44

Unframed. Window mounted in japan paper. The sheet is somewhat foxed, although the marks are quite pale and not prominent. Made up at all corner except the upper left, and also at the centre of the upper edge. The ink, however, is still quite strong.
"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."

Although the source for this figure is not known, it must belong to the group of studies made by Jan de Bisschop after antique sculpture or more recent Italian prototypes.  The artist executed no fewer than a hundred etchings after antique sculpture, which he published in two volumes in 1668 and 1669 as Signorum veterum Icones, but it seems he never actually went to Italy himself and based all these prints on drawings and prints made by other artists.  Although he was an amateur artist, and his main career was as a lawyer in the court at the Hague and secretary to Constantijn Huygens the Younger, his drawings and prints, both after antique and renaissance sculpture and paintings and in the landscape genre, are of the greatest quality and delicacy.  For further information on de Bisschop's copies after Italian and classical models, see the exhibition catalogue, Episcopius. Jan de Bisschop (1628-1671), advocaat en tekenaar.¹

1.  Amsterdam, Museum het Rembrandthuis, 1992, pp. 38-63