Lot 155
  • 155

Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade

Estimate
18,000 - 22,000 USD
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Description

  • Adriaen jansz. van Ostade
  • half-length study of a figure, possiby cooking
  • Black chalk and touches of white chalk, within black ink framing lines, on blue paper

Provenance

Kunsthalle, Hamburg (L.686, L.1328);
bears another, unidentified, collector's mark;
Carel Emil Duits (L.533a),
sale, Amsterdam, Sotheby's, 19 April 1982, lot 24 (purchased by the present owner)

Condition

Window mounted. Slight thin area, centre left edge, and paper very slightly discoloured in places, but overall condition 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.
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.

Catalogue Note

In an e-mail dated 28 November 2011, Dr. Bernhard Schnackenburg associates this very confident figure study with a group of Adriaen's earliest chalk drawings, dating from the early 1640s, good examples of which include three sheets now in Hamburg1, as well as the studies on the recto of the double-sided drawing that is lot 152 in the present sale.  With its striking economy of line, this drawing illustrates Ostade's great mastery of the chalk medium, and his figure studies in this technique are among his most attractive and accomplished works.

It is not entirely clear what the figure seen here is actually doing, but there is a strong similarity with several of Ostade's iconic figures of pancake-makers, although there does not seem to be a directly connected figure in any of the artist's surviving paintings.

1.  B. Schnackenburg, Adriaen van Ostade, Isack van Ostade, Zeichnungen und Aquarelle, 2 vols., Hamburg 1981, nos. 45-47