The head of an old man in profile to the right (recto); The head of an old woman in profile to the left (verso)

Details

Follower of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
The head of an old man in profile to the right (recto); The head of an old woman in profile to the left (verso)
inscribed 'ms fantin d'artus-' (recto) and 'S.ra facona 4' (verso)
black chalk (recto), pen and brown ink
4¼ x 3½ in. (108 x 88 mm.)

Provenance

Possibly Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel.
J. Richardson Sen. (L. 2184), his mount with attribution and description 'Leonardo. Ritratto di Monsieu D'Artus.'; M. Cock, Covent Garden, London, 10 February 1747, part of lot 50 (as 'Seven Leonardo da Vinci, portrait of Mons. Artus de Gouffer - Caricatures and Mastlo', £1 12s to Bouverie).
E. Bouverie (L. 325), not in his sale at Christie's in 1859, but retained in his family until
Anon. sale, Sotheby's, London, 11 November 1965, lot 39 (£750 to Colnaghi).
with P. & D. Colnaghi.

Lot Essay

A very similar profile by Leonardo is in the British Museum, A.E. Popham and P. Pouncey, Italian Drawings in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum: The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, London, 1950, no. 111, pl. CV. Bernard Berenson connected that profile to the head of Judas in the Last Supper.
The inscription on the recto of this sheet almost certainly refers to Artus Gouffier, seigneur de Boisy (1475-1519) and tutor to the Duc d'Angoulème, later King François I. A paragon of the age, he exercised a strong influence over the young king, and instilled in him a taste for art and literature informed by his visits to Italy. This was to be reflected in François I's court at Fontainebleau, itself modelled on Artus' château d'Orion. He was created grand maître de France, and granted large territories, including the Marquessate of Caravas in the King's Lombard possessions.

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