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Lot Essay
The recto of the drawing is based on the Christ in Rogier van der Weyden's altarpiece of the Last Judgment in the Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune (M.J. Friedländer, Rogier van der Weyden and the Master of Flémalle, Leyden, 1967, no. 14, pl. 24). The picture was commissioned by the Chancelier Rolin for the altar of the chapel adjoining the principal hospital ward of the Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune, in Burgundy. The commission dates from 1443, when Rogier was living in Brussels. The picture was probably finished and delivered before 1450.
There are important differences between the Christ depicted in the present drawing and that in the Beaune picture. In the latter the right hand of Christ is down and in profile, while in the former the hand is raised and the palm facing forward. The features of the figures also differ. The general arrangement of the drapery folds is similar, but again in the details they show many discrepancies. Essentially the folds are more complex in the drawing and they do not follow those in the picture, especially on the left knee and right arm. The artist responsible for the drawing also introduced more detail to the anatomy of the left forearm.
The black chalk underdrawing of the present sheet remains very strong and shows a number of differences from the penwork, mainly in the upper right hand, in the head and in the lower part of the drapery.
The figures on the verso, also with the chalk underdrawing largely visible, are probably studies for saints for the wings of an altarpiece.
The watermark dates the paper to the middle of the 15th Century. This type of ox is covered by Piccard in volume XIV part 3, under nos. 840-1039, and the paper was widely used in Northern Europe between 1422 and 1462. This particular watermark occurs in German documents dated around 1447.
Rogier van der Weyden's prototype was re-used during the second part of the 15th Century by various artists, such as Hans Memling in the Last Judgement in the Museum Narodowe in Gdansk (F. Koreny, 'Martin Schongauer as a Draftsman: A reassessment', Master Drawings, 1996, 2, p. 126, fig. 2). There are at least two other drawn copies after this prototype: one by Martin Schongauer in the Louvre and another by the anonymous Master of 1493 in Karlsruhe (F. Koreny, op. cit., p. 126, figs. 3-4). Fritz Koreny suggested that the two German drawings were not based on Rogier's picture, but rather on a drawing from Rogier's studio, of the same type as that used by Memling for his picture in Gdansk.
There are important differences between the Christ depicted in the present drawing and that in the Beaune picture. In the latter the right hand of Christ is down and in profile, while in the former the hand is raised and the palm facing forward. The features of the figures also differ. The general arrangement of the drapery folds is similar, but again in the details they show many discrepancies. Essentially the folds are more complex in the drawing and they do not follow those in the picture, especially on the left knee and right arm. The artist responsible for the drawing also introduced more detail to the anatomy of the left forearm.
The black chalk underdrawing of the present sheet remains very strong and shows a number of differences from the penwork, mainly in the upper right hand, in the head and in the lower part of the drapery.
The figures on the verso, also with the chalk underdrawing largely visible, are probably studies for saints for the wings of an altarpiece.
The watermark dates the paper to the middle of the 15th Century. This type of ox is covered by Piccard in volume XIV part 3, under nos. 840-1039, and the paper was widely used in Northern Europe between 1422 and 1462. This particular watermark occurs in German documents dated around 1447.
Rogier van der Weyden's prototype was re-used during the second part of the 15th Century by various artists, such as Hans Memling in the Last Judgement in the Museum Narodowe in Gdansk (F. Koreny, 'Martin Schongauer as a Draftsman: A reassessment', Master Drawings, 1996, 2, p. 126, fig. 2). There are at least two other drawn copies after this prototype: one by Martin Schongauer in the Louvre and another by the anonymous Master of 1493 in Karlsruhe (F. Koreny, op. cit., p. 126, figs. 3-4). Fritz Koreny suggested that the two German drawings were not based on Rogier's picture, but rather on a drawing from Rogier's studio, of the same type as that used by Memling for his picture in Gdansk.