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Lot Essay
Sir Tomkyns Hilgrove Turner, who owned this drawing in the early 19th Century, was a career soldier who distinguished himself in the wars against France, particularly in Egypt. In 1801 he was responsible for taking possession of the antiquities collected by the Institut de France in Egypt which were to have been handed over at the surrender of Alexandria. General Menou attempted to keep back the Rosetta stone, and it was Hilgrove Turner who with a party of gunners removed the stone to a requistioned Egyptian frigate and sailed immediately for Britain.
The attribution to Ferdinand Bol was suggested by Peter Schatborn. Mr Schatborn writes:
The drawing was accepted as a Rembrandt by Otto Benesch, but had earlier been doubted by Falck and Hind (see Valentiner, loc. cit.). Benesch dates the drawing circa 1643, relating it to the (undated) etching Ruth and Naomi, the so-called Preciosa (Bartsch 120), because Vertumnus is closely related to the old woman in that composition. Henkel believed the drawing to have been inspired by a print by Tempesta.
The stylistic characteristics of the drawing can be found in drawings by Rembrandt from around 1640. Although the rembrandtesque character is very recognizable, the execution does not show his immediate and suggestive style. There is also an imbalance in these stylistic characteristics compared with those in Rembrandt's own drawings. Although the contours have been rendered with thick and thin lines, which is typical of Rembrandt's drawings, the final result is less stable and some lines show a somewhat loose character; this also holds for the lines of the drawing inside the contours.
Holm Bevers suggested that the most likely pupil to have made the drawing is Ferdinand Bol. The starting points for the attribution are drawings such as Joseph interprets the dreams of the prisoners in Hamburg, Kunsthalle (Sumowski, 1979, I, no. 101), although this drawing is somewhat sketchier. The lively thin lines and firmer darker lines of alternating thickness are comparable, as also are the fine hatchings covered in a few places with wash. Two drawings recently attributed to Ferdiand Bol in Berlin, The Good Samaritan (Benesch 556) and Tobias frightened by the fish (Benesch 559) also show similarities (H. Bevers, Rembrandt. Die Zeichnungen im Berliner Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, 2006, pp. 198-99, repr.). The figure of the angel in the latter drawing is less sketchy than the Hamburg drawing, but shows a plasticity closer to the figures of Vertumnus and Pomona. This drawing does however differ from the above mentioned drawings in the absence of a background, which in Bol's drawings is often broadly represented. As in Tobias frightened by the fish some parts have been touched with white. The drawing of The Good Samaritan is dated 1644, which could also be the date for Vertumnus and Pomona.
We are grateful to Mr Schatborn for preparing this note.
The attribution to Ferdinand Bol was suggested by Peter Schatborn. Mr Schatborn writes:
The drawing was accepted as a Rembrandt by Otto Benesch, but had earlier been doubted by Falck and Hind (see Valentiner, loc. cit.). Benesch dates the drawing circa 1643, relating it to the (undated) etching Ruth and Naomi, the so-called Preciosa (Bartsch 120), because Vertumnus is closely related to the old woman in that composition. Henkel believed the drawing to have been inspired by a print by Tempesta.
The stylistic characteristics of the drawing can be found in drawings by Rembrandt from around 1640. Although the rembrandtesque character is very recognizable, the execution does not show his immediate and suggestive style. There is also an imbalance in these stylistic characteristics compared with those in Rembrandt's own drawings. Although the contours have been rendered with thick and thin lines, which is typical of Rembrandt's drawings, the final result is less stable and some lines show a somewhat loose character; this also holds for the lines of the drawing inside the contours.
Holm Bevers suggested that the most likely pupil to have made the drawing is Ferdinand Bol. The starting points for the attribution are drawings such as Joseph interprets the dreams of the prisoners in Hamburg, Kunsthalle (Sumowski, 1979, I, no. 101), although this drawing is somewhat sketchier. The lively thin lines and firmer darker lines of alternating thickness are comparable, as also are the fine hatchings covered in a few places with wash. Two drawings recently attributed to Ferdiand Bol in Berlin, The Good Samaritan (Benesch 556) and Tobias frightened by the fish (Benesch 559) also show similarities (H. Bevers, Rembrandt. Die Zeichnungen im Berliner Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, 2006, pp. 198-99, repr.). The figure of the angel in the latter drawing is less sketchy than the Hamburg drawing, but shows a plasticity closer to the figures of Vertumnus and Pomona. This drawing does however differ from the above mentioned drawings in the absence of a background, which in Bol's drawings is often broadly represented. As in Tobias frightened by the fish some parts have been touched with white. The drawing of The Good Samaritan is dated 1644, which could also be the date for Vertumnus and Pomona.
We are grateful to Mr Schatborn for preparing this note.