Follower of Rembrandt van Rijn

A. Freiherr von Lanna (L.2773),
sale, Stuttgart, May 1910, lot 464;
William Mayer (L.2799);
Jean Cantacuzène (L.4030),
sale, Paris, 6 June 1969, lot 471;
Emile Wolf, New York,
thence by descent

Ithaca, Cornell University, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Dutch Drawings of the Seventeenth Century from a Collection, 1979, no. 19 (as Rembrandt)

W. Sumowski, "Rembrandtzeichnungen," Pantheon, 29, 1971, pp. 129, 136-7, fig. 7 (as Remrbandt)

Laid down on an additional sheet of paper, which has in turn been hinged in two places along the upper edge to a modern mount. There is an old repaired tear to the upper left corner and a small pin prick hole to the lower half of the right edge. The iron gall ink has fractionally sunk in places and has created some minor hairline cracks around the rear foot of the lion. The sheet has discolored somewhat with age, however the image remains strong and the medium fresh. Sold in a faux tortoiseshell and 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.

Towards the end of the 1640s, Rembrandt made an important series of drawings of lions, clearly from life, not necessarily intended as studies for any particular painting, which were collected together into an album of drawings, recorded in Rembrandt's 1656 inventory, as containing 'beesten nae 't leven' ('animals made from life').¹  These drawings proved highly popular, providing the inspiration for drawings like this by Rembrandt's pupils and followers, and also serving as the basis for a set of 18 engravings after Rembrandt's drawings, published in 1729 by Bernard Picart.  ^1.  See P. Schatborn, 'Beesten nae 't  leven,' De Kroniek van het Rembrandthuis, 1977, 2, pp. 3-31, and idem, in Rembrandt, The Master & his Workshop. Drawings & Etchings, exh. cat., Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, and Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 1991-2, no. 26