- 15
Hans Johann Rottenhammer the Elder
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
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Description
- Hans Johann Rottenhammer the Elder
- Christ and the Woman of Samaria
- Inscribed in brown ink, lower right: Joh. Rottenhammer and bears number, top right: N. 40.
- Pen and black ink and grey wash
- 19.6 x 15.6cm
Condition
Sheet has been folded in four at some point, and flattened again. Minor repaired tear, top centre. Some very small thin spots down left edge, from previous mounting. Some light foxing and surface dirt throughout, but ink still strong and fresh.
"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."
"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
In striking contrast to the previous lot, Rottenhammer here draws in a much more controlled manner, still very strong and energetic but with far greater linearity and emphasis on visual clarity. One of the most comparable of his other drawings in this respect is the depiction of The Christian Youth between Virtue and Vice, in Stuttgart, which has been dated around 1615, well after Rottenhammer’s return from Italy to Germany.1 In some respects, these drawings represent a more clearly Germanic phase in his art, and there are clear similarities with the drawing style practised in Bavaria during the last quarter of the 16th century by Friedrich Sustris and the other artists working at the Bavarian court of William V. Indeed, the stylistically comparable drawing in Stuttgart also clearly draws compositionally on a painting by Sustris, The Choice of Hercules, which Rottenhammer could have seen at the time in the Munich Residenz, and could also have known through a print by Jan Sadeler.
Like the Stuttgart drawing, which is squared in black chalk, this elegant and contemplative depiction of Christ and the Woman of Samaria was probably made as a study for a painting.
1. Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie, inv. C 202; Hans Rottenhammer, begehrt - vergessen - neu entdeckt, exhib. cat., Schloss Brake, Weserrenaissance-Museum, and Prague, Nationalgalerie, 2008-9, pp. 177-8, cat. 88.