By Carter B.
Part of the mystique of being a
is the drawing cabinet where precious but perishable sketches
are stored and only rarely but very lovingly studied. Another
part of that mystique is that many of the greatest "draughtsmen"
were not always famous painters. Yet another aspect of the mystique
is that the style of many famous painters is not always, indeed,
very often, not the same in their drawings.
Because of these and other
factors such as
their low public visibility and accessibility, the collection
of drawings is rather a rarefied yet very rewarding field. For
many fledging collectors, however, they afford an opportunity
to occasionally purchase a drawing by a famous artist at a small
fraction of what a painting by the same artist might bring.
Lot 95 in this auction, for
Excavation of a Roman Ruin," shown above, by Jean-Honoré
Fragonard (1732-1806), is a drawing (261 by 313 millimeters, the
catalogue’s measure) that has an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000.
It sold for $145,500, which includes the buyer's premium as
do as the prices in this article. Drawn with brown and gray
wash with blue, red and olive-green watercolor over traces of
black chalk, it is quite impressionistic and fluid for the artist
and yet a very specific composition with numerous figures. The
catalogue notes that "The delicate touches of watercolor
which Fragonard has used in this large-scale and particularly
atmospheric landscape are found only very rarely in his oeuvre.
Though very different in scale, the drawing can e compared in
this respect with a small group of Italianate landscapes, apparently
capricci, which Eunice Williams dates to the early
shortly after the artist’s return to Paris in 1761. Particularly
close is the Temple in a Garden, in the Baltimore Museum of Art)(on
deposit from the Robert Gilmour Collection…)." In the
composition, the figures occupy the foreground in front of a tall
colonnade divided by an angled sweep of trees with another colonnade
in the background. Fragonard is often preoccupied with fleeting,
but luxurious, moments and this interesting and rather complete
sketch captures much of his joie de vivre, even though it is not
Similarly, Lot 39, ""Gimiendo y
(Weeping and Wailing), a 192 by 155 mm, black chalk and lithographic
crayon drawing, shown above, by Francesco José de Goya
y Lucientes is a rare work by this great Spanish master. According
to the catalogue, "This belongs to the first of two albums
which were composed of drawings Goya made while he was in Bordeaux
between 1824 and 1828. "[Pierre] Gassier, the co-author with
Juliet Wilson of a 1971 book on Goya] underscores the importance
of these works because they reveal Goya’s interest in the
new techniques of lithography. He has abandoned his previous use
of ink and wash in favor of black chalk and lithographic crayon,
used with an energy which belies his age and failing health. These
late drawings are bold, largely of single figures, and include
some of his most haunting images of human foibles and suffering
as well as his characteristic blend of reality and dream. Of the
fifty-drawings which Gassier records for Album G, the highest
number inscribed by Goya being 60, thirteen are in the Prado,
Madrid, sixteen were sold to the German collector Gerstenberg,
and subsequently destroyed in Berlin in 1945, and the rest are
in various public and private collections," the catalogue
continued. "This imploring old man …is a cross between
the central figure in the Shootings of May Third
on the Mount of Olives; he is neither defiant nor submissive
but a grief-stricken supplicant," the catalogue quotes Gassier
of writing about this work, which is numbered 50 and has an estimate
of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $937,500, tying the
drawing auction record, and the highest price realized at this
auction. Dr. Nancy Bialler and Gregory Rubinstein, the specialists
in charge of the sale, commented afterwards that they were "delighted
with the results..., which made $4,837,880, well above the $4.2
million high estimate for the sale. Nine of the top ten lots sold
above their pre-sale estimate, a trend which was reflected throughout
the sale with 58 percent of the lots selling above their high
estimate," a quite strong showing. The second highest lot
was Lot 12, a "portrait of Gilles Van Breen," by Hendrick
Goltzius (1558-1617), which was the cover illustration for the
catalogue and sold for $486,500, and had had a high estimate of
$120,000. Of 198 lots offered, 72.2 percent, or 143 sold, a not
impressive percentage in general but not unusual for drawing sales.
While the Fragonard drawing is
a bit atypical
of his painting style, the Goya drawing is quite recognizable
stylistically. Neither work, however, would be considered "beautiful,"
but the auction certainly has some drawings that are "beautiful"
on their own merits.
One such example is Lot 4, "The
and Child with Mary Magdalen," by Joseph Heintz the Elder
(1564-1609), a black and red chalk drawing, 253 by 183 mm, shown
above. The work bears the attribution "Correggio" in
brown ink and the catalogue notes that "as the old inscription
suggests, Correggio seems to have been the inspiration for this
composition, which is particularly reminiscent of the Madonna
of St. Jerome, now in the Galleria Nazionale, Parma." "Correggio’s
painting, always one of his most admired works, was in the church
of Sant’Antonio Abbate in Parma by 1550. Heintz was in Italy
between 1583 and 1589, and his copies after paintings, frescos
and sculpture seen there are well documented. The faces of the
three figures are entirely characteristic of Heintz and, though
less highly finished, this drawing may be compared in technique
with The Toilet of Venus…and with a study of two
after Raphael, and a study of A Standing Satyr,
the Albertina, Vienna…Heintz used the motif of a female saint
kneeling before the Madonna and Child enthroned in an architectural
setting for his altarpiece for the chapel of St. Barbara in the
Church of St. Thomas, Prague." The lovely work has a modest
estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $63,000.
Another admirer of Correggio is
del Grano (1848-1538) and Lot 11 is a very fine study of two kneeling
saints in red chalk, 105 by 168 mm, that has an estimate of $6,000
to $8,000 and the catalogue says that only "some thirty drawings
are known that can be attributed" to this painter. It
sold for $25,875.
Lot 19 is a very fine red chalk
by 254 mm, of St. Jerome by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called
Il Guercino (1591-1666). It has a modest estimate of $25,000 to
$35,000. It sold for $43,125.
Lot 25 is a small and very
and brown ink drawing of a bearded old man leaning on a stick
by Sir Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641), which has a sketch of a female
torso on the other side. The 98 by 73 mm work has an estimate
of $25,000 to $35,000 and the catalogue notes that the figure
is similar to several in some of the artist’s paintings.
It failed to sell.
A good mate for Lot 25 is Lot
77, a 150 by
125 mm pen and brown ink and wash with traces of red chalk (possibly
offset from another sheet) of a standing man with one knee resting
on a ledge by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), the great
designer of fantastic architectural spaces. It has a slightly
ambitious estimate of $50,000 to $70,000. It also failed to
sell, perhaps a reflection that small dark works are not in high
A very beautiful, though faint,
work is Lot
31, a study of two male heads, by Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640).
The black and white chalk with gray wash on buff paper drawing,
206 by 318 mm, bears a signature and has a conservative estimate
of $35,000 to $40,000. It sold for $31,375.
Lot 34 is an excellent drawing
with two studies
of the head of a bearded old man by Abraham Bloemaert (1564-1651)
with a study of feet on the other side. The red and black chalk
on oatmeal paper, 187 by 180 mm, has a modest estimate of $20,000
to $30,000. It sold for $48,875. The drawing,
to the catalogue, "belongs to the sizeable series of studies
of figures and parts of figures which Bloemaert seems to have
amassed" and whose son, Frederik engraved and published around
Lot 36 is perhaps the highlight
of the sale
as it is a very large, very dramatic and very detailed "Antique
Battle Scene with Elephants" by Charles Le Brun (1619-1690).
The 441 by 1121 mm pen and brown ink and brown and gray wash,
over black chalk on two joined sheets of paper, was once in the
collection of Nathaniel Rothschild and had a conservative estimate
in the catalogue of $60,000 to $80,000. Shortly
the auction, however, the attribution was downgraded to "follower"
of Le Brun and the estimate was "amended" to $10,000
to $15,000. It sold for $20,700.
The catalogue’s description of
work is as follows:
"The subject of this drawing,
its format, suggests that it could well be a rejected compositional
study for one of Le Brun’s famous series of paintings depicting
The History of Alexander, and specifically for a
of The Battle of Porus. In 1660-61 Le Brun received
first important commission from Louis XIV: summoned by the King
to the Chateau of Fontainebleau, he was asked to illustrate on
a grand scale the story of Alexander the Great, an historical
hero with whom Louis XIV clearly sought to identify himself. Le
Brun was left to select the individual subjects himself, and his
first painting in the series, now at Versailles, represents The
Queen of Persia at the feet of Alexander….Following this
painting’s rapturous reception, Le Brun continued the series
with four further canvases, depicting The Passage of Grancius,
The Battle of Arbella, the Triumph of Alexander, and Porus
Before Alexander, all now the Louvre….The popularity
of these paintings was further reinforced when they were reproduced
as tapestries, and they were subsequently also engraved…"
Perhaps the most beautiful
drawing in the auction
is Lot 70, shown above, "The Deposition," a pen and
brown ink and wash, 181 by 162 mm, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
(1696-1770). This work was sold by Ronald and Marietta Peabody
Tree at Sotheby’s in 1976 and has a conservative estimate
of $25,000 to $35,000. It sold for $45,125.
Many of the members of the
Tiepolo family were
fabulous draftsmen and there are two fine works by Giovanni Domenico
Tiepolo (1727-1804), Lots 76 and 83. The former is a pen and gray
ink and brown wash drawing, 199 by 275 mm, of "Putti Among
Clouds" and has a conservative estimate of $10,000 to $15,000.
It is signed. It sold for $16,100. The latter is a
and light brown ink and wash over black chalk drawing of "St.
Anthony and the Christ Child with Angels and Putti among Clouds."
The 488 by 381 mm drawing has an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.
It sold for $74,000.
Lot 87 is a quite strong and
black, white, red and blue chalk drawing of the head of a young
girl with a scarf around her hair, 211 by 151 mm, by Francois
Boucher (1703-1770) that is quite lovely, though a bit more pensive
than one normally associates with this always delightful artist.
It has a conservative estimate of $12,000 to $15,000. It sold
Claude Gellé, called Claude
(1600-1682) is best known for his large landscapes often with
classical buildings. Lot 37, "Moses and the Burning Bush,"
is an atypical work for the large scale of Moses, who appears
as a youth, in the landscape. According to the catalogue, the
work is a "finished study for the figure of Moses in one
of the paintings commissioned from Claude by the French envoy
in Rome, Louis d’Anglute, Sieur de Bourlemont," a painting
that was completed in 1664 and is now in the collection of the
Duke of Sutherland. The envoy was a major patron of the artist
and a beneficiary in his will. The black chalk and brown and gray
wash drawing is 194 by 254 mm and was formerly in the collection
of Norton Simon, Inc., Museum of Art and the catalogue says it
was also "probably" once in the collection of Queen
Christina of Sweden. It has an estimate of $70,000 to $90,000.
It failed to sell.
Lots 32 and 33 are very nice
from the estate of Emile Wolf by Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) that
are conservatively estimated each at $12,000 to $18,000. Both
lots failed to sell.
Collectors interested in
may consider Lot 27, a simple drawing of a seated old man warming
his hands by the fire. The quill and reed pen and brown ink and
wash with oxidised white heightening in the corrections around
the figure’s hands is 151 by 175 mm and has an estimate of
$200,000 to $300,000, reflecting its "undisputed," according
to the catalogue, attribution to Rembrandt Harmensz. Van Rijn
(1606-1669). The work is rather freely drawn, which adds to its
appeal. It sold to an American private collector for $277,500.
Of far more visual interest is
Lot 45, a drawing
for a frieze decoration of "A Pieta with Duke Cosimo de’
Medici and Eleonora di Toledo," by Baccio Bandinelli (1488-1560).
The catalogue notes that the sheet was "enlarged by the artist
at the right with a vertical panel and through the centre of the
drawing with an irregular strip (from two sheets)." The drawing
measures 489 by 533 mm and has a very conservative estimate of
$15,000 to $20,000. It sold for $31,625. Letters
duke indicate that he and his consort, Eleonora, accepted a design
by Bandinelli for a Pieta and ordered it to be executed as an
altarpiece in oils by Bronzino, under Bandinelli’s supervision,"
the catalogue states. With such names and with such interesting
detail in this work, what more does one want at such a modest
Drawings, of course, are not
always in perfect
condition as artists sometimes grab at scraps in moments of
leave things lying about their studios and sometimes start off
a drawing that gets larger than they planned.
One of the most exquisite
drawings in the auction
is Lot 52, a standing male nude holding a ring, by Giovanni Battista
Naldini (1537-1591). The 403 by 245 mm pen and brown ink over
traces of black chalk drawing is cut off above the figure’s
forehead. It has an estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. Naldini worked
with Pontormo. It failed to sell.
Another "imperfect" work is Lot
another drawing by Boucher, which has a slight tear in the upper
left corner, which does not effect any of the drawing, which is
a very lively, almost abstract study of two woman, one reclining
and the other playing a flute in red chalk. The 174 by 245 mm
work has a conservative estimate of $10,000 to $15,000 and is
a preliminary study for a tapestry, examples of which are in the
Petit Palais in Paris and the Royal Collection in Stockholm. It
sold for $14,950.
Lot 61, on the other hand, is a
of a drawing with its own very elaborate drawn framing. The 294
by 140 mm drawing is a design for part of a mural decoration and
depicts a high priest addressing a kneeling woman who holds a
tablet with other figures in roundels and brackets surrounding
the central picture. It is by Taddeo Zuccaro (1529-1566) and is
very nicely drawn with white highlights and has an estimate of
$20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $23,000.
A more robust and dynamic work
is Lot 67, a
317 by 275 mm drawing of a design for a chariot with Neptune surrounded
by four allegorical figures, possibly the continents. The attribution
is only to Roman School, 17th Century, but the catalogue notes
that it is "close to the style of Bernini and Gaulli; it
must be a work of an artist in their orbit. It has a conservative
estimate of $3,500 to $4,500. It sold for $7,475.
Lot 69 is a fine example of a
complete composition. It is a 360 by 480 mm red and black chalk,
pen and brown ink and wash, heightened with white drawing by Hubert
Robert (1733-1808) that has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.
"This is a particularly beautiful and elaborate work, unusual
among Robert’s drawings in the extensive use of white heightening,"
the catalogue notes. It sold for $37,375.
Lot 98 is a study by
Ingres (1780-1867) of "Paolo and Francesca" and has
a conservative estimate of $20,000 to $30,000 in light of how
desirable and rare his drawings are and this is a complete, though
lightly done, composition. It sold for $25,875.
Lot 105, in contrast, shown
above, is a very
strong drawing of "Andromache Mourning the Death of Hector"
by Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). The 290 by 245 mm work is
a newly discovered version of a signed and dated version in the
Musée du Petit Palais in Paris. This very finished, though
not overly appealing, drawing has an estimate of $70,000 to $80,000.
It sold for $112,500 to an American private collector.