Donato Creti

Sir James Knowles,
his sale, London, Christie's, 27 May 1908, in lot 200;
with Louis Meier, London, from whom purchased, circa 1955

Newcastle, 1960, no. 49 (as Domenico Maria Fratta);
Newcastle, 1974, no. 108 (as Domenico Maria Fratta);
Newcastle, 1982, no. 79, reproduced pl. XIXB (as Donato Creti)

Laid down on the old mount. Good fresh 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."

Although Ralph Holland at first catalogued this as the work of Creti's pupil Domenico Maria Fratta, he subsequently recognised that it was of high quality and is in fact a fine and characteristic example of the large drawings made by Creti himself.  Creti produced numerous highly finished landscape drawings in vertical format, clearly intended for sale directly to collectors or even to be given to friends.¹

A companion drawing, Bathers in a Wooded Landscape, also from the Knowles collection, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.²  Another Creti drawing with Diana asleep, of similar size, from the Santarelli collection, is in the Uffizi.³  As pointed out by Marco Riccomini in his recent catalogue of Creti's drawings, the Uffizi sheet is a pendant of Creti's drawing Two elegant figures in conversation, dated, 1714, now in the Biblioteca Comunale dell'Archiginnasio, Bologna. ⁴
Furthermore Riccomini points out the existence of two others, later, sheet of studies with the subject of Diana asleep.⁵

1.  See D. DeGrazia, Master Drawings from The Armand Hammer Collection, exhib. cat., Washington, National Gallery of Art, 1987, p. 97
2.  Inv. no. 1971.58; J. Bean, 17th Century Italian Drawings..., New York 1979, p. 123, no. 154, reproduced p. 122
3.  Inv. no. 4042S; M. Riccomini, Donato Creti, Le opere su carta, Turin 2012, no. 37.37
4.  Inv. no. 1901; Ibid., no. 11.10
5.  Ibid., nos. 23.2 recto and verso, 23.46