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Lot Essay
The present drawing was given to Paul Bril (1568-1626) in the 1976-77 exhibition catalogue, and was thought to be a copy after a lost drawing by Paul's elder brother Matthijs (1550-1583). It was compared to two very similar drawings then given to Paul Bril in the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin (inv. KdZ 448), and Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, Budapest (inv. 1552). Peter Schatborn has suggested that the present drawing should in fact be given to Willem van Nieulandt II, who lived in Rome some years before 1604 as a pupil of Paul Bril. Van Nieulandt seems not to have made the drawing from life as the church on the left of the Castel Sant' Angelo looked different during his time in Rome. So this drawing was probably made after one of an earlier date by Matthijs Bril. Van Nieulandt could have seen it with Paul Bril, who owned a large number of sheets by his elder brother.
The same composition, in reverse and with several alterations, was used by van Nieulandt for an etching in a series of four views of Rome (Hollstein 6-9). Whether the present drawing, or one of those in Berlin and Budapest was used as the preparatory drawing for the etching remains uncertain.
The same composition, in reverse and with several alterations, was used by van Nieulandt for an etching in a series of four views of Rome (Hollstein 6-9). Whether the present drawing, or one of those in Berlin and Budapest was used as the preparatory drawing for the etching remains uncertain.