- 230
Joseph Heintz the Elder
Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Joseph Heintz the Elder
- Study of an Eagle and Eaglets with Seated Figures and Two Putti
- Pen and brown ink over red chalk, with the remains of corrections in white heightening;bears numbering in red chalk, verso: 167 and further numbered and inscribed in blue chalk, verso: 167 - sec XVI
- 138 by 185 mm; 5½ by 7¼ in
Provenance
Dr. Mühsam, Berlin;
Private Collection, New York;
with Mia N. Weiner, Connecticut, 1994
Private Collection, New York;
with Mia N. Weiner, Connecticut, 1994
Condition
Hinge mounted in two places along the upper edge to a modern card backing. There is a small circular hole to the upper left corner of the sheet and some very minor staining to the extremities. The white heightening applied around the seated cherubs head remains only slightly visible but the medium otherwise remains in very fine original condition with the pen and ink and red chalk still vibrant throughout. Sold in a carved giltwood frame.
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.
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 combination of media seen in this very fine drawing is highly distinctive and unusual. Although the birds to the left foreground are entirely drawn with the pen, as are the majority of the outlines of the two angels, the essential structure of the composition, and also almost all of the body of the third figure behind, are constructed primarily with red chalk, applied with the greatest refinement. The broad and sweeping, yet slightly angular strokes of pen and ink appear to have been applied after, rather than before the chalk, in a highly personal manner. A somewhat similar approach to outlines is seen in certain drawings by Bartholomäus Spranger, but the artist who most frequently employed the unorthodox yet extremely effective technique seen here was Joseph Heintz the Elder. Comparison with drawings by Heintz such as the sketchbook sheet with a woman leaning forward and other figures, in Budapest, reveal very close stylistic parallels.1
Jürgen Zimmer dates the Budapest drawing to around 1595-1605. In 1591, Heintz had been named Imperial Painter at the Court of the Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, but was soon dispatched to Italy to make purchases for the imperial collection, and to study antiquities. Heintz returned north in 1596, arriving in Prague around 1598, and during the years between then and around 1605, the full complement of the leading Rudolfine artists and designers of their generation - Heintz, Spranger, Hans von Aachen, Adriaen de Vries, Joris Hoefnagel and Hans Vredeman de Vries - worked side by side in a veritable frenzy of creativity and artistic originality.
A fine and characteristic example of a Rudolfine drawing of its time, this elegant sheet is a significant addition to the corpus of known drawings by Joseph Heintz. We are grateful to Dr. Jürgen Zimmer for kindly confirming the attribution, on the basis of a photograph.
1. Budapest, Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, inv. 58.458; J. Zimmer, Joseph Heintz der Ältere, Zeichnungen und Dokumente, Munich/Berlin 1988, pp. 143-4, no. A 70, fig. 112, colour plate VII
Jürgen Zimmer dates the Budapest drawing to around 1595-1605. In 1591, Heintz had been named Imperial Painter at the Court of the Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, but was soon dispatched to Italy to make purchases for the imperial collection, and to study antiquities. Heintz returned north in 1596, arriving in Prague around 1598, and during the years between then and around 1605, the full complement of the leading Rudolfine artists and designers of their generation - Heintz, Spranger, Hans von Aachen, Adriaen de Vries, Joris Hoefnagel and Hans Vredeman de Vries - worked side by side in a veritable frenzy of creativity and artistic originality.
A fine and characteristic example of a Rudolfine drawing of its time, this elegant sheet is a significant addition to the corpus of known drawings by Joseph Heintz. We are grateful to Dr. Jürgen Zimmer for kindly confirming the attribution, on the basis of a photograph.
1. Budapest, Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, inv. 58.458; J. Zimmer, Joseph Heintz der Ältere, Zeichnungen und Dokumente, Munich/Berlin 1988, pp. 143-4, no. A 70, fig. 112, colour plate VII