Lot 1
  • 1

Gherardo Cibo

Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 USD
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Description

  • Gherardo Cibo
  • Rugged landscape with St. Anthony and a pig, a burning church in the background
  • Pen and brown ink and watercolor, within black ink framing lines;
    bears inscription, in black chalk, verso: Daniel van Heil nee à Bruxelles 1604

Condition

Window mounted. There are signs of some minor old repairs to the sheet, above the flames in the upper left corner and in the lower right corner. The surface of the sheet is slightly rubbed with some minor areas of surface dirt. The watercolour is still reasonably fresh throughout.
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

The old attribution to the Brussels artist Daniel van Heil can only be explained on the basis of subject matter: scenes of burning buildings were one of that artist's favourite themes.  But stylistically, the drawing is clearly earlier, and as Drs. Luuk Pijl has kindly pointed out, it is a characteristic work by the highly individual artist Gherardo Cibo, whose works have often been mistaken for those of northern artists.  The distinctive combination of looping foliage, rather wilder strokes in other areas of landscape, and broad passages of bold colours can be seen in several drawings, notably a rugged landscape in the Biblioteca Civica Passionei, Fossombrone, and a double-sided sheet of smaller landscape studies Jesi.Drs. Pijl has also noted that the monk in the foreground, accompanied by the pig, is surely St. Anthony, and the burning church behind may be a rather literal reference to 'St. Anthony's fire'.

1.  A. Nesselrath, Gherardo Cibo, alias Ulisse Severino da Cingoli, exh. cat., San Severino marche, Centro Studi Salimbeni per le Arti Figurative, cats. 29, 31