Le Maître des études de Draperies

J.P. Heseltine (L.1507)

Hinged at the upper margin. Small water stained in the middle. Some light staining at the upper margin in the centre. There is in the upper right section few tiny holes caused by pen pricks. Overall in fairly good condition. The medium is fairly strong. Attaché par le bord supérieur. Quelques taches d'eau au centre. Quelques décolorations au milieu du bord supérieur. Il y a quelques très légers trous d'épingle dans la partie haute à droite. Etat de conservation globalement satisfaisant. Le médium reste globalement puissant.
"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."

This remarkable, double-sided sheet of studies is clearly one of the most substantial and significant surviving sheets by the artist formerly known as ‘The Master of the Coburg Roundels’, and now generally referred to as ‘The Master of the Drapery Studies’. 

The Master of the Drapery Studies was an interesting and prolific artist, working in the upper Rhine region, perhaps close to Strasbourg, in the last quarter of the 15^th century.  He seems to have been active as a painter and designer of glass-paintings, but above all as a draughtsman, leaving some 150 surviving drawings, far more than any other Northern European artist before Albrecht Dürer.  His drawings, almost all of them figure or drapery studies, are characterised by a very distinctive approach to the fall and folds of draperies, combined with a highly personal approach to facial features, notably eyes.  Around one third of the artist’s known drawings are housed in the Veste Coburg printroom. First dubbed ‘Master of the Coburg Roundels’, after two drawings of roundels, probably glass designs, in the Veste Coburg collection, he was re-christened ‘The Master of the Drapery Studies’ by Friedrich Winkler, author (in 1930) of the first extensive study of the artist and his works.  Many of his drawings in fact record paintings, sculpture and engravings by other artists of Netherlandish or German origin, and there are clear links with the Strasbourg area.  There are, however, no surviving copies by him of any of Dürer's earliest works, so it seems likely that he was dead by 1497, the year in which Dürer produced his first dated engraving.

This sheet is exceptional not only for the fact that it contains so many different studies, but also for the extensive handwritten notes that accompany these studies.  Other drawings by the artist are known that include multiple sketches, but hardly ever with annotations; one exception to this is the single study of drapery, previously in the collection of Dr. Edmund Schilling and acquired by the British Museum in 1997 (inv. 1997,0712.4), which is annotated in a manner very similar to the present sheet, but otherwise such working notes are very rare.  It has not so far been possible to decipher or interpret many of these inscriptions, but there can be little doubt that detailed examination by specialists in the handwriting of the late 15^th century will unlock the secrets contained in these inscriptions, and there is also little doubt that as a result this sheet will take on ever greater significance, as a vital document of the career of this prolific and gifted, yet still enigmatic artist.  

Although there is no other 15^th-century artist from North of the Alps by whom we have so many surviving drawings, drawings by the Master of the Drapery Studies hardly ever come to the market.  Almost all his drawings are by now in museum collections, mostly in Europe, and this major, heavily annotated sheet is by far the most important work by the artist to be offered for sale in the past half century.