Lot 76
  • 76

Marcantonio Raimondi

Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Marcantonio Raimondi
  • Study of an allegorical female figure, in a tunic, running to the right
  • Pen and brown ink and wash within black chalk framing lines

Provenance

Captain Carlo Prayer (L. 2044)

Condition

Window mounted. In good condition. Pen and ink remain fresh. The paper has faded and there are a few scattered brown stains on the verso. Sold unframed.
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

This very characteristic study in pen and ink by the famous engraver Marcantonio Raimondi is stylistically close to several discussed by Konrad Oberhuber in his article on the artist's early works.It is especially close in handling to the figure of Dido, now in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, which Oberhuber associated stylistically with the running princess in Raimondi's engraving St. George and the dragon, datable circa 1505.  The figures both share the same fluidity in the use of the pen and the close cross hatching as well as an overall elegance in the depiction of the drapery.  This sheet and many of the others mentioned in Oberhuber's article come from the collection of Captain Carlo Prayer and they all bear his mark.  They were once part of a dismembered sketchbook and some were sold at Christie's in two sales in the late 1980s.Carlo Prayer was active as a collector in Milan in the second half of the 19th century. 

 

1.  K. Oberhuber, 'Marcantonio Raimondi: gli inizi a Bologna ed il primo periodo romano', Bologna e L'Umanesimo 1490-1510, exhib cat., Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale, 1988, pp. 76-78; the figure of Dido, p. 76, fig. 37
2.  London, Christie's, 5 July 1988, lots 1-7;  London, Christie's, 6 December 1988, lots 1, 2. All then came from the collection of Juan and Felix Bernasconi