Lot Essay
We are grateful to Dr. Zahira Véliz for her assistance in cataloguing this drawing.
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THE PROPERTY OF THE MAXWELL MACDONALD FAMILY (LOTS, 64, 66-9, 70, 72 and 74)The drawings in lots 64, 66-9, 70, 72 and 74 were part of the celebrated collection assembled by Sir William Stirling-Maxwell (1818-1878). An erudite art historian and Hispanist, he formed one of the earliest and most important collections of Spanish drawings in Britain. Stirling-Maxwell had a large influence on the appreciation of Spanish art in England; he published in 1848 the first scholarly history of Spanish Art in English, Annals of the Artists of Spain, which made Spanish art easily accessible to English readers for the first time. The scholarly approach to Spanish drawings was also present in Stirling-Maxwell’s collection. He tried to collect drawings by as many artists as possible in order for his collection to offer a comprehensive survey of Spanish drawing. The collection was formed between 1842 and the early 1870s and on their dispersal in the 1920s about half of the collection was bought by Sir Robert Witt who bequeathed them to the Courtauld Institute (see Z. Véliz, Spanish Drawings in The Courtauld Gallery: complete catalogue, London, 2011). While most of the drawings from the remaining half were dispersed by Stirling-Maxwell’s sons, a number of drawings remained at Pollok House, from which the present drawings were removed.
Circle of Alonso Cano (Granada 1601-1667)
An altarpiece showing the apparition of the Virgin to Saint Francis, in an architectural frame
Details
Circle of Alonso Cano (Granada 1601-1667)
An altarpiece showing the apparition of the Virgin to Saint Francis, in an architectural frame
inscribed 'S.FRANCO/ DE/ SENA'
black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown wash
11 7/8 x 9 5/8 in. (30.2 x 24.6 cm.)
An altarpiece showing the apparition of the Virgin to Saint Francis, in an architectural frame
inscribed 'S.FRANCO/ DE/ SENA'
black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown wash
11 7/8 x 9 5/8 in. (30.2 x 24.6 cm.)
Provenance
Sir William Stirling-Maxwell (1818-1878), and by descent to the present owners.