Lot 178
  • 178

Herman van Swanevelt

Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 USD
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Description

  • Herman van Swanevelt
  • Wooded Landscape
  • Pen and brown ink and wash and point of the brush and gray wash  within brown ink framing lines;
    bears somewhat indistinct inscription, in brown ink, upper right:  di io giorno  di S.Lorenzo 1648 al Cornato / ..nerelli (?)
    and bears attribution in pencil, versoClaude Lorrain

Provenance

Sale, London, Christie's, 30 March 1976, lot 49 (as 'Trees in the Forest of Camaldoli')

Literature

A. C. Steland, Herman van Swanevelt, 2 vols., Petersberg 2010, no. Z 2, 64, pl. Z 164

Condition

Hinged to the mount at upper margin. Overall in good condition. The medium remains fresh and strong. Tiny fox marks, mainly concentrated at the right margin also a few creases in the paper, lower right. Sold in a 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.
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

The significance of the inscription (of which Steland was unaware)unfortunately remains unclear.  GIven that it is written in Italian, but dates from several years after Swanevelt left Italy for Paris, it is unlikely that it is in his hand.  Perhaps it records the gift of the drawing from one collector to another. 

In terms of the handling of details, this very spontaneous and appealing drawing can be compared with the somewhat more formally composed Mercury and Argus and Pan and Syrinx, both in the British Museum, the former a study for one of Swanevelt's etchings, the latter signed.1

1.  Steland, op. cit., nos.  Z 1, 33, Z 1, 32, respectively