Sotheby’s Old Master Drawings department is honored to be offering a group of 13 drawings from the Collection formed by King William II of the Netherlands (1792-1849) and his Russian wife Anna Pavlovna (1795-1865). Assembled during a period of some 30 years, their collection contained masterpieces on paper by the likes of Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Correggio, Van Dyck and Rubens, whose exceptional figure study leads the group. Preparatory for one of his most celebrated altarpieces, The Raising of the Cross, which today is housed in Antwerp Cathedral, the drawing on offer is one of the most important by the artist to appear on the open market in over 50 years. Click ahead to discover more highlights from this collection, including the highly refined portrait attributed to Agostino Carracci and a superb compositional drawing by Guercino.
