Carlo Maratta

Sale, London, Christie's, 6 July 1999, lot 56;
Private Collection, New York

Hinge mounted to a modern card backing, which has in turn been hinged to a mount. There is an old horizontal hanging line running horizontally across the sheet and a small repaired tear located to the left half of the bottom edge. The red chalk medium remains in very fresh condition throughout this impressive sheet.
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.

The present sheet is a primo pensiero by Carlo Maratta for the figure of the Samaritan in his painting, Christ and the Samaritan at the Fountain (fig.1), an important commission that the artist executed circa 1685-1690, for his Roman patron, Marchese Niccolò Maria Pallavicini. When this drawing last appeared on the market it was described as a study for Rebecca at the Well, but the rediscovery by Stella Rudolph of Maratta's Christ and the Samaritan at the Fountain, which was subsequently exhibited and published in 2000,¹ clarifies the nature and function of the present work.

^1. S. Rudolph, L’idea del Bello: Viaggio per Roma nel Seicento con Giovan Pietro Bellori, Rome 2000, p. 474, no. 19, reproduced