Circle of Sir Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640). Four d...

Hammer

£28,000

Circle of Sir Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640). Four drawings of heads of bearded men. (A) Head of a Squinting Bearded Man, sanguine and black chalk on laid paper, 5 5/8 x 3 5/8in. (14.4 x 9.4cm.) (B) Head of a Bearded Man Facing Left, sanguine and black chalk on laid paper 5 5/8 x 3 5/8in. (14.5 x 9.5cm.). (C) Head of a Bearded Man Facing Right, black chalk on laid paper 4 7/8in. x 3 5/8in. (12.5 x 9.2cm.) (D) Head of Bearded Man Facing Left and Looking Up, black chalk on laid paper, 4 7/8 x 3 1/2in. (12.5 x 9cm.). Framed. (4) *Provenance: By family descent from: Baroness Gerda von Chappuis (b.1874), Lady in Waiting to Princess Marie-Louise of Schleswig-Holstein (1872-1956), granddaughter of Queen Victoria. As Lady in Waiting to the Princess, Baroness von Chappuis had close connections with the British Royal Family and when she moved to England, she was able to add the Rothschilds at Waddesdon Manor to her impressive social circle. She was painted by Sir John Lavery RHA, RA, RSA (1856-1941). **Attribution The two drawings in black and sanguine chalk, (A & B), are of a significantly higher quality than the drawings in black chalk, (C & D). The four drawings are related to an album of ninety-four drawings that the French painter, collector, art critic and diplomat Roger de Piles (1635-1709) purchased from Rubens’ nephew, Philip. The album was later described as comprising "Heads of diverse characters in black or sanguine chalk that Rubens made from nature". The album was subsequently acquired by Philip’s patron Pierre Crozat (1665-1740), one of the richest men in Europe. The drawings in the album were much copied by French artists before being divided into four parts and sold at auction in 1741 following Pierre Crozat's death the year before. Some, if not all, of the drawings remained in Paris for several years and continued to be copied by yet more French artists before being dispersed. There appears to be no reference to the album from the late 18th century to the present time and it seems that many of the original drawings from the album have disappeared. At least eleven of the original pages from the album have survived and through the copies that were made by French artists in the 18th century, around a third of the lost album can be recreated. The copies of the original Rubens drawings were made by Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), Nicolas Vleughels (1668-1737) and the printmaker Louis Marin Bonnet (1736-1793). The discovery that the four drawings discussed here are related in some way to the Roger de Piles album relies heavily upon research undertaken by Dr Martin Eidelberg, American professor emeritus of art history at Rutgers University, and published in “An Album of Drawings from Rubens' Studio”, Master Drawings, (Autumn 1997), Vol. 35, No.3, pp.234-266. Also, from comparison with drawings in the collections of the Albertina, Vienna; Louvre, Paris; and Harvard University Art Museum, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr Eidelberg is not convinced that the present four drawings came from the original Roger de Piles album and, as a consequence, that assertion is not being made here. We are grateful to Dr Eidelberg for his expert opinion. There is however an undeniable association between the four drawings discussed here and those considered to be copies of drawings from the Roger de Piles album. (A) "Head of a Squinting Bearded Man" relates to a drawing by Nicholas Vleughels (1668-1737), now in the Louvre, in itself a copy of a lost drawing by Rubens. Similarly, (B) Head of a Bearded Man Facing Left relates to another copy of a lost Rubens drawing by Nicholas Vleughels (1668-1737) also in the Louvre. Both original Rubens drawings were also copied by Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) and significantly appear on the same sheet together, now in the Harvard University Art Museum, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge Massachusetts. (A & B) are of similar dimensions to the drawings from the Roger de Piles album. (C & D) relate to other drawings by Rubens workshop known to have come from the Roger de Piles album, such as Head of a Bearded Man, Facing Left, Head of a Bearded Man Looking Down to the Right, Head of a Bearded Man with his Hand to his Chin in the Albertina, Vienna. (D) is numbered lower right "133" in a manner very similar to other drawings described as Rubens workshop and originally from the Roger de Piles album. Many of these Rubens workshop drawings from the album are also numbered in the lower right corner. (C & D) are also of similar dimensions to the Rubens workshop drawings in the Albertina, Vienna. It is worth noting that in 1987 Elizabeth Llewellyn, expert in Old Master Drawings at Sotheby's, gave the written opinion that (A & B) were "either by Van Dyck or Rubens" and that (C & D) "are studio works". This opinion was provided ten years before Dr Eidelberg published his research in Master Drawings in 1997. Until then little scholarly attention had been given to the Roger de Piles album of ninety-four heads. Further information about the drawings can be provided upon request.