- 441
Johann Carl Loth
Estimate
2,500 - 3,500 GBP
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Description
- Johann Carl Loth
- Venus and two attendants, handing flowers to mercury
- Pen and brown ink over faint traces of black chalk, heightened with white, on grey paper
Provenance
Bears an unidentified armorial collector's mark;
sale, London, Christie's, 11 April 1978, lot 113, reproduced pl. 39;
sale, London, Christie's, 6 July 1993, lot 176, purchased by Ralph Holland
sale, London, Christie's, 11 April 1978, lot 113, reproduced pl. 39;
sale, London, Christie's, 6 July 1993, lot 176, purchased by Ralph Holland
Catalogue Note
This is a characteristic drawing by Loth, both in technique and in composition. The astrological sign of Leo appears in the upper left corner, suggesting it is an allegory of summer and might have been intended for a series of the seasons.
Another version of the composition, catalogued as Mercury and the three Graces, was in the collection of Janos Scholz.1 In that drawing there is also an astrological sign, in the top right corner, but it is not easy to identify.
1. Disegni veneti della collezione Janos Scholz, exhib. cat., Venice, Cini Foundation, 1957, no. 55, reproduced