David Vinckboons

Laid down, with further strips of paper attached to all four edges. A few somewhat oily, round brown stains (two upper right, two in centre, and two more towards left). Some surface abrasion, especially left and right edges and on vertical ridge down centre of sheet. Small tear, lower right edge. Some overall surface dirt, but ink and wash both still extremely good and fresh, and overall impression still good and 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.
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.

This previously unrecorded drawing is in many respects closely comparable to a group of six surviving sheets by Vinckboons, which appear to come from an originally more extensive series of large, elaborate landscape drawings incorporating relatively small biblical subjects.¹ One drawing from the series, in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, is dated 1601, and it seems reasonable to assume that they were all executed at about the same time.²  The other five drawings in the group are in London, Hamburg, Paris and New York; the last of these, the Landscape with Susannah and the Elders, in the Pierpont Morgan Library, is particularly close in handling to the present drawing.³  The six drawings were all engraved, in reverse, by Jan van Londerseel, as part of a series of nearly thirty similar representations after designs by various artists.

No print is, however, known after the present drawing, and although it is generally very similar in conception, format and handling to the six drawings by Vinckboons engraved by Londerseel, there are also certain differences of approach that indicate it was probably not created for the same project or purpose.  The figures are rather larger within the composition, and the handling generally a little looser, and in these respects the drawing is perhaps closer in style to some slightly later works, such as the Prodigal Son series, in the British Museum, which date from circa 1608.⁴  Also, the drawing is squared for transfer.  This squaring may well be later, but does all the same indicate that the drawing ultimately served as the basis for another work in a different medium, probably a painting.

1. W. Wegner and H. Pée, 'Die Zeichnungen des David Vinckboons,' Münchener Jahrbuch der Bildenden Kunst, 32, 1980, no. 42, cat. nos. 6-11

2. Inv. 1948:390; M. Schapelhouman, Catalogus van de Nederlandse Tekeningen in het Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Nederlandse tekeningen omstreeks 1600, 's-Gravenhage 1987, pp. 152-3, cat. no. 92

3. Inv. no. 1964.6. Wegner and Pée, op. cit., cat. no. 9; see also F.Stampfle, Netherlandish Drawings of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries and Flemish Drawings of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York/Princeton 1991, p. 100, cat. no. 217

4. Wegner and Pée, op. cit., cat. nos. 39a-d