Denys Calvaert

Nicholas Lanier (L.2886, twice, recto);
Sir Peter Lely (L.2092);
William Mayor (L.2799);
Oliver Hawkshaw,
by descent to the present owner

Laid down. White heightening partly oxidized. A tiny small loss at the top left corner. Some light brown staining and three very small grey stains towards the right edge at the top, and some small stains also to the left towards the edge. Overall chalk still fresh. Sold mounted and framed in a modern gilded frame.
"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."

Very typical of Calvaert's style, this angel holding a curtain does not seem to be connected to any of his known surviving paintings, although a very similar angel appears at the bottom right of his Assumption of the Virgin, an altarpiece datable to the mid 1570s, now in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna.¹  In the present study, the angel is drawn more frontally, but the position of the legs and the right arm and the folds of the drapery are very close to the painting.  Therefore, it is tempting to suggest that Calvaert reused, with small variations, some of his most successful drawings, adapting them to different compositions.  An example of his reuse, with only minor changes, of an entire composition is The Marriage at Cana, which is known in three versions: one dated to 1591, in the British Museum, and two from 1598, now in the National Gallery of Scotland and in a private collection.²

1. S. Twiehaus, Dionisio Calvaert (um 1540-1619), Die Altarwerke, Berlin 2002, pp. 210-211, no. A 17, reproduced fig. 40

2. E. Llewellyn and C. Romalli, Drawing in Bologna, exhib. cat., London, The Courtauld Institute, 1992, no. 6, reproduced