Jan Boeckhorst

Wöllfeld, Vienna;
Marczell von Nèmes, Budapest;
Anonymous sale, Berlin, Rudolph Lepke, 4 April 1911, lot 133 (as A. van Dyck);
Dr. Karl Lanz, Mannheim, by 1917;
Felix Ziethen, Munich;
By whom sold, Munich, Galerie Hugo Helbing, 22 September 1934, lot 23 (as van Dyck);
H. Helbing, Munich, in 1934;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 5 July 1967, lot 48 (as Sir P. P. Rubens);
With Newhouse Galleries, New York;
Acquired from the above by Bernard C. Solomon, Los Angeles;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 24 March 1972, lot 68 (as Sir Peter Paul Rubens);
With Everest-Pickwick Fine Arts, Los Angeles;
Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Private Collector'), New York, Sotheby's, 5 June 1986, lot 63 (as attributed to Sir Peter Paul Rubens);
Private collection, Los Angeles;
Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Private Collector, Los Angeles'), New York, Sotheby's, 28 January 1999, lot 263 (as Jan van Boeckhorst), for £57,272;
Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Gentleman'), London, Christie's, 7 December 2007, lot 119, for £58,000.

Mannheim, Kunsthalle, 42 Gemälde aus der Sammlung Dr Karl Lanz, Mannheim, December 1912 – February 1913, no. 11 (as van Dyck);
Darmstadt, Mathildenhöhe, Ausstellung der Sammlung Dr. Karl Lanz, March – April 1913;
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1974–1977.

A. L. Mayer, Kunstchronik, vol. XXVI, 1914–15, p. 390 (as van Dyck);
A. Pigler, Barockthemen: eine Auswahl von Verzeichnessen zur Ikonographie des 17. und 18. Jahrhunders, vol. II, Budapest 1956, p. 246 (as School of Rubens);
M. Jaffé, 'Rediscovered oil sketches by Rubens – II', in The Burlington Magazine, vol. CXI, September 1969, p. 533, reproduced p. 532, fig. 4 (as Sir Peter Paul Rubens);
A. Pigler, Barockthemen: eine Auswahl von Verzeichnissen zue Ikonographie des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts, Budapest 1974, vol. II, p. 361 (as School of Rubens);
J. S. Held, The Oil Sketches of Peter Paul Rubens, Princeton 1980, vol. I, p. 630, cat. no. A12, reproduced vol. II, plate 480 (as by an artist in the Rubens circle, possibly Jan Boeckhorst);
J. G. van Gelder, 'Rubens Marginalia IV', in The Burlington Magazine, vol. CXXIII, September 1981, p. 545, note 19;
E. McGrath, Rubens Subjects from History, Corpus Rubenianum XIII, London 1997, vol. II, pp. 87–90, under cat. no. 15, reproduced vol. I, fig. 59 (as Jan Boeckhorst).

The panel has been maroflauged. There do not appear to be any particular problems with the original panel so it is not clear why this was done, presumably sometime in the 20th century. The panel is flat and the paint surface very well preserved with much of the original bravura brushwork very much intact. There is a vertical panel join just right of centre which is clean and unproblematic. Inspection under ultra violet light reveals spot retouchings in a few concentrated areas such as in the background above Roxana's head and in the immediate foreground. Overall the painting is in a very good state of preservation.
"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."

The sketch has in the past been ascribed to Rubens, in connection with the picture of the same subject, now in the Anhalt Gallery at Schloss Wörlitz, Dessau.¹ Held (see Literature) argues that it has no direct connection with Rubens’ picture, and was the first to suggest a tentative attribution to Boeckhorst. McGrath (see Literature) has since published the sketch alongside two other scenes from the life of Alexander, likewise arguing that although they show a relation to Ruben’s style, the designs are from the Boeckhorsts' own imagination rather than directly derivative.

The fact that the figure are shown in a sinistrarum iunctio, that is, holding their left hands rather than their right, which indicates the sketch was made in preparation for a print, a book illustration or even a tapestry.

1. See H. G. Evers, Rubens und sein Werk, Brussels 1943, p. 269, reproduced fig. 290.