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Lot Essay
This drawing has passed through some of the greatest collections of Old Master drawings as a work by Leonardo da Vinci. Approximately one hundred grotesques by Leonardo survive, around fifty of which are in the Royal Collection at Windsor, with a smaller group of around thirty at Chatsworth and examples at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles (inv.84.GA.647) and the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. 10.45.1). These studies of grotesque and caricatured heads influenced artists contemporary with Leonardo, as well as exerting the greatest and most widespread appeal on early collectors of his drawings in the 17th and 18th centuries. When this drawing was sold at Christie's in 1963, the catalogue entry was written by A.E. Popham, one of the great scholars of Old Master drawings in the twentieth century and the author of an acclaimed catalogue of Leonardos' drawings. He fully endorsed the attribution to the artist, as did Carlo Pedretti at the time of the 1995 sale. Recently however, scholars have come to regard this drawing as a high-quality homage to the master by a contemporary of Leonardo's as there appear to be stylistic differences in the pen work, the facial type and the size of the drawing.
Grotesques are generally believed to have been taken up by Leonardo after his move to Milan to work at the court of Ludovico Sforza, il Moro in the 1480s. While the court may have employed people with facial disfigurements for the courtiers’ entertainment, in much the same spirit as dwarfs were engaged, Leonardo’s interest was more complex. Although he did not believe in physiognomy as a reliable indicator of character, he did believe that a person’s innate goodness or wickedness left a trace on the face: hence his struggle to find an appropriately villainous face for his Judas in his Last Supper and the difficulties he also faced in finding a model to do justice to the serene beauty of Christ. His studies of grotesques grew from this same motivation, although he frequently pushed physiognomy beyond the bounds of realism in adjusting the prominence of forehead, nose, mouth or chin as a playful experiment in characterization.
The artist who executed this drawing seems to have had a similar point of view, as this sensitive portrayal appears neither crude nor cruel. There are ways in which this drawing is a departure from Leonardo. The scale is larger than that of most grotesques by Leonardo. In addition, the heavy outlines of the profile, and the tight, controlled hatching differ from his. The physiognomy is also distinct from Leonardo's oeuvre: the combination of a pug nose, receding upper lip and sagging weak chin is a unique combination of facial features.
The drawing's quality has been recognized throughout its history as evidenced by its illustrious provenance which extends from the beginning of the 17th century when it belonged to Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel (1585-1646). Arundel was instrumental in bringing Italian art to England and his collection included the greatest collection of Leonardo grotesques. Twenty-six of the Arundel grotesques, including the present drawing, were etched and published by Wenceslas Hollar in 1645 (fig. 1). The print series was extremely popular and was reprinted in both 1648 and 1666. Later this drawing was owned by Jonathan Richardson, Sen. (1665-1745), the English portrait painter, writer, collector, dealer and agent who amassed one of the important collection of drawings of his era. The drawing remains on Richardson’s distinctive gold bordered mount. The drawing was acquired in his posthumous 1747 sale by another great English connoisseur, John Bouverie (circa 1723-1750), in whose family’s collection it remained until the 1963 sale at Christie’s. In that sale catalogue Popham enthusiastically described the drawing:
'In the extraordinary delicacy and minuteness of the pen strokes with which the face is modelled the drawing is reminiscent of the studies of skulls at Windsor (nos. 19.057 and 19.058, recto and verso; A.E. Popham, The drawings of Leonardo, New York, 1945, nos. 217-219), which date from 1489, and this caricature may belong to the same period.'
Two other drawings with the same provenance until 1965 as the present drawing and attributed to an Associate of Leonardo da Vinci were sold at Sotheby's, London, 11 November 1965 (lots 39-40). A group of grotesque head studies described as After Leonardo da Vinci was also in the collection of the Earl of Pembroke (Reproductions in facsimile of drawings by the old masters in the collection of the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery at Wilton house. With text, explanatory and critical, by S. Arthur Strong. Drawings by the old masters. exh. cat., London, Colnaghi, 1900, no. 15), and highlights the fact that some of the greatest collections of Old Master drawings contained grotesques believed to be by this most coveted master.
Grotesques are generally believed to have been taken up by Leonardo after his move to Milan to work at the court of Ludovico Sforza, il Moro in the 1480s. While the court may have employed people with facial disfigurements for the courtiers’ entertainment, in much the same spirit as dwarfs were engaged, Leonardo’s interest was more complex. Although he did not believe in physiognomy as a reliable indicator of character, he did believe that a person’s innate goodness or wickedness left a trace on the face: hence his struggle to find an appropriately villainous face for his Judas in his Last Supper and the difficulties he also faced in finding a model to do justice to the serene beauty of Christ. His studies of grotesques grew from this same motivation, although he frequently pushed physiognomy beyond the bounds of realism in adjusting the prominence of forehead, nose, mouth or chin as a playful experiment in characterization.
The artist who executed this drawing seems to have had a similar point of view, as this sensitive portrayal appears neither crude nor cruel. There are ways in which this drawing is a departure from Leonardo. The scale is larger than that of most grotesques by Leonardo. In addition, the heavy outlines of the profile, and the tight, controlled hatching differ from his. The physiognomy is also distinct from Leonardo's oeuvre: the combination of a pug nose, receding upper lip and sagging weak chin is a unique combination of facial features.
The drawing's quality has been recognized throughout its history as evidenced by its illustrious provenance which extends from the beginning of the 17th century when it belonged to Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel (1585-1646). Arundel was instrumental in bringing Italian art to England and his collection included the greatest collection of Leonardo grotesques. Twenty-six of the Arundel grotesques, including the present drawing, were etched and published by Wenceslas Hollar in 1645 (fig. 1). The print series was extremely popular and was reprinted in both 1648 and 1666. Later this drawing was owned by Jonathan Richardson, Sen. (1665-1745), the English portrait painter, writer, collector, dealer and agent who amassed one of the important collection of drawings of his era. The drawing remains on Richardson’s distinctive gold bordered mount. The drawing was acquired in his posthumous 1747 sale by another great English connoisseur, John Bouverie (circa 1723-1750), in whose family’s collection it remained until the 1963 sale at Christie’s. In that sale catalogue Popham enthusiastically described the drawing:
'In the extraordinary delicacy and minuteness of the pen strokes with which the face is modelled the drawing is reminiscent of the studies of skulls at Windsor (nos. 19.057 and 19.058, recto and verso; A.E. Popham, The drawings of Leonardo, New York, 1945, nos. 217-219), which date from 1489, and this caricature may belong to the same period.'
Two other drawings with the same provenance until 1965 as the present drawing and attributed to an Associate of Leonardo da Vinci were sold at Sotheby's, London, 11 November 1965 (lots 39-40). A group of grotesque head studies described as After Leonardo da Vinci was also in the collection of the Earl of Pembroke (Reproductions in facsimile of drawings by the old masters in the collection of the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery at Wilton house. With text, explanatory and critical, by S. Arthur Strong. Drawings by the old masters. exh. cat., London, Colnaghi, 1900, no. 15), and highlights the fact that some of the greatest collections of Old Master drawings contained grotesques believed to be by this most coveted master.