Flemish School, late 16th Century

Thomas Hudson (L.2432);
Purchased from Parsons, October 1912

Partially laid down. Two light brown stains at the upper margin, one in the centre and one near the right corner of the sheet. Some staining at the four corners and tip of lower left corner is missing. Small tear upper left corner. Pen and ink remains strong and vibrant.
"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."

Although this drawing would seem to have been made by a Flemish artist active in the last ten or fifteen years of the 16th century, the old attribution to Hans Bol cannot be maintained.  The wildness of some of the foreground detail is, however, reminiscent of the drawings of the so-called Master of the Budapest Sketchbook¹, whom Marijn Schapelhouman has suggested may actually have been the Leiden artist Conraedt van Schilperoort (c. 1577-1636).²

We are most grateful to Stefaan Hautekeete for informing us that another drawing, very probably by the same hand, with almost the same measurements and bearing the same monogram, is in the Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, Connecticut (inv. 1958.726). 

^1. T. Gerszi, Netherlandish drawings in the Budapest Museum: Sixteenth-century drawings, Amsterdam 1971, vol. I, pp. 61-4, nos. 148-161, vol. II, pls. 113-139

^2. M. Schapelhouman, Netherlandish Drawings circa 1600 in the Rijksmuseum, 's-Gravenhage 1987, pp. 134-5, no. 82