Lot 71
  • 71

Jean Antoine Watteau

Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 GBP
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Description

  • Jean Antoine Watteau
  • the deposition, after leandro bassano
  • Black, red and white chalk, with (later) touches of brown ink on light brown paper; within black ink framing lines;
    bears inscription in brown ink on an old label pasted on the verso: Rembrand

Provenance

Possibly Jean de Jullienne;
possibly his sale, Paris, 30 March–22 May 1767, in lot 810;
David Lachenmann;
with Thomas Le Claire, Hamburg (Master Drawings 1500-1900,  1992, no. 28), from whom bought by the present owner

Literature

E. Dacier and A.J. Vuaflart, Jean Jullienne et les graveurs de Watteau au XVIII siècle, Paris 1929, vol. I, p. 49;
M. Morgan Grasselli, 'Eighteen Drawings by Antoine Watteau. A Chronological Study', in Master Drawings, 1993, no. 2, p. 124, no. 18, fig. 28;
P. Rosenberg and L.-A. Prat, Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), Catalogue raisonné des dessins, Milan 1996, vol. II, no. 357

Condition

Unframed. Laid down on an old sheet. Within black ink framing lines. A hole of circa 1cm x 1.5cm towards the upper right margin, but not very visible as the sheet is laid down. In some places the surface appears to be slightly rubbed, but overall the use of trois crayons is very effective. The image in the catalogue appears warmer and redder than the drawing. In reasonably good condition.
"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

This is a copy after a painting currently attributed to Leandro Bassano in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. no. 5680; fig. 1).  Rosenberg and Prat date this drawing around 1715, whereas Margaret Morgan Grasselli places it around 1721, relating it to Crozat's project to publish engravings after paintings in French collections.  Watteau made many copies after the works of earlier artists, including Rubens, Campagnola and Veronese.  Two other copies, also in trois crayons, after works by members of the Bassano family are known, A Seated Woman seen from Behind and a Head of a Man.1

With her usual elegance and insight, Morgan Grasselli writes of this drawing: 'Rarely in his copies after other artists did Watteau retain so clearly his own artistic personality as he did here in this remarkable copy...The facial types, the forms, the draperies, and -- most important -- the particular way in which the chalks are combined give this drawing more of the character of an original by Watteau than of a copy after another artist... The mystery, pathos, and nocturnal setting of the original are conveyed through the dominant use of black, relatively uncommon in Watteau's own work but used here with extraordinary delicacy and atmospheric effect'.2

1. Rosenberg and Prat, op. cit., nos. 346, 358
2. Grasselli, loc. cit.