Claude Gellée, called Claude Lorrain

Rev. Dr. H. Wellesley (1791-1866),
his sale, London, Sotheby's, 25 June - 8 July 1866, lot 841, to J.C. Robinson, agent for Malcolm;
J. Malcolm (1805-1893),
thence by descent to his son-in-law, The Hon. A.E. Gathorne-Hardy;
Geoffrey Gathorne-Hardy;
The Hon. Robert Gathorne-Hardy;
by whose widow sold, London, Sotheby's, 28 June 1979, lot 156, unsold;
sale, New York, Sotheby's, 16 January 1985, lot 171;
sale, London, Christie's, 7 July 1992, lot 48 (purchased by the present owner) 

London, P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., Ltd, and Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, Loan Exhibition of Drawings by Old Masters from the Collection of Mr Geoffrey Gathorne-Hardy, 1971-72, no. 36, reproduced plate XXVIb;
London, British Museum, Claude Lorrain, 1977, ex-catalogue

Descriptive Catalogue of Drawings...in the possession of the Hon. A.E. Gathorne-Hardy, London 1902, no. 59;
M. Roethlisberger, 'Claude's 'View of Delphi'', in Museum Studies, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1966, vol. I, no. 85, p. 88;
Idem, Claude Lorrain, The Drawings, Berkeley and Los Angeles 1968, p. 264, no. 683a, reproduced;
L. Gowing, 'Nature and the Ideal in the Art of Claude', in Art Quarterly, 37, 1974, p. 96 (as Gainsborough);
M. Roethlisberger, L'opera completa di Claude Lorrain, Milan 1975, p. 111, under cat. no. 187;
H.D. Russell, Claude Lorrain, 1600-1682, exhibition catalogue, Washington, National Gallery of Art, 1982, p. 162, under cat. 39  

Unframed. Laid down. There is slight yellowing of the sheet at the margins and there are some very pale isolated fox marks. The chalk, however is still very strong and overall the condition appears to be good.
"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."

A preliminary study for Claude's painting, View of Delphi with a Procession, made in 1650 for Prince Pamphili and now in the Galleria Doria-Pamphili, Rome (fig.1).¹  The sheet is one of four drawings related to the painting and one of the two which Roethlisberger cites as having been made in preparation for the painting.  The first, in the Accademia, Venice, is executed in pen and wash and more finished in appearance.²  However, Claude must have been unhappy with the composition as the present sheet, although more freely drawn, revised a number of elements which were then adopted in the painting.  The only aspect both sheets share is their absence of figures, not unusual for Claude's preliminary studies.   

Roethlisberger wrote of the drawing: 'No other immediately comparable chalk study for a painting exists from around 1650, but the style is in keeping with contemporary nature and pictorial drawings done in chalk.  The only unusual point about the handling is its sweeping, perfunctory quality, which anticipates a manner dear to Gainsborough'.³

1. See M. Roethlisberger, Claude Lorrain, The Paintings, London 1961, vol. I, pp. 294-6, no. LV119, vol. II, fig. 207
2. See Roethlisberger, op.cit., 1968, fig. 683
3. Ibid., p. 264