L13040

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Lot 129
  • 129

Jan Philips van Bouckhorst

Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Jan Philips van Bouckhorst
  • Head studies of three figures, including a bearded oriental
  • Pen and brown ink, within brown ink framing lines;
    bears inscription, lower left: Lievens f.;
    bears calculations in brown ink, verso

Provenance

Henry Hamal, Liège (L.1231; his inscription, verso: Ex Coll: H: Ha);
bears unidentified collector's mark, verso (JJS in blue, not in Lugt)

Condition

Sheet was presumably larger at some point, but does not seem recently cut. Remains of old hinge down right side, verso. Ink very slightly sunk into paper in one or two places, and a very little, slight surface dirt, but overall condition good and strong. Sold in a modern tortoiseshell 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. 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."

Catalogue Note

Although it does bear some similarities to the work of Jan Lievens, and to Hendrick Goudt, to whom it was also formerly attributed, this striking drawing bears all the hallmarks of Bouckhorst's distinctive draughtsmanship, which was strongly influenced by both de Gheyn and Goltzius, yet remains highly personal. 

Three closely comparable sheets, one dated 1617 and the other two 1628, are in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.The first of these Rijksmuseum drawings, representing Sr Hans Stokvis ("Master Hans Dried Cod"), and a companion drawing in the Abrams Collection2, Juffrouw Braet-Haringh ("Mistress Roast Herring"), both clearly depict characters from Dutch popular theatre, and the same may well be true of the present sheet.

1.  Inv. nos. RP-T-1949-539, RP-T-1884-A-289, and RP-T-1897-A-3362, respectively.  M. Schapelhouman and P. Schatborn, Dutch Drawings of the Seventeenth Century in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Artists Born between 1580 and 1600, 2 vols., Amsterdam/London 1998, nos. 35, 37 and 38, reproduced
2.  W.W. Robinson, Seventeenth-Century Dutch Drawings, A Selection from the Maida and George Abrams Collection, exhib. cat., Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, et al., 1991-2, no. 15