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Lot Essay
Le style très vivant mais contrôlé de la présente feuille indique qu’il ne peut s’agir d’une copie, contrairement à la majorité des dessins que nous connaissons de cette période du début des Pays-Bas. Bien qu’il n’ait pas été possible de l’attribuer à un artiste connu, ce travail à la plume caractéristique et cette utilisation des hachures se retrouvent dans au moins un autre dessin de la même main dont une feuille très bien conservée et retouchée du British Museum (Fig. 1 ; inv. SL, 5237.95 ; voir AE Popham, Dutch and Flemish drawings of the XV and XVI centuries, Londres, 1932, p. 63, no. 8, pl. XXII). Les deux dessins faisaient autrefois partie de la collection du peintre flamand et actif en Angleterre, Prosper Henry Lankrink, et devaient appartenir à une série plus importante de Saintes Femmes. Le dessin de Londres représente Martha, comme l’indique son inscription en haut. Bien que l’inscription sur la présente feuille ne puisse pas être lue, les attributs portés par la Sainte laisse à penser qu’il s’agit de la princesse et érudite Catherine d’Alexandrie, qui sera par la suite décapitée.
The controlled but lively manner of the present sheet indicates it cannot be a copy, in contrast to the majority of surviving Early Netherlandish drawings. While it has not been possible to attribute it to a known artist, its characteristic penwork and use of hatching can be found in at least one other drawing by the same hand: a less well-preserved and more heavily retouched sheet at the British Museum (Fig. 1; inv. SL,5237.95; see A.E. Popham, Dutch and Flemish drawings of the XV and XVI centuries, London, 1932, p. 63, no. 8, pl. XXII). Both drawings were once in the collection of the Flemish-born painter active in England, Prosper Henry Lankrink, and must have been part of a larger series of female saints. The drawing in London depicts Martha, as stated in its inscription at top. Although the inscription on the present sheet cannot be read, the attributes carried by the saint indicate she must be the princess and scholar Catherine of Alexandria, whose life ended with her beheading.
The controlled but lively manner of the present sheet indicates it cannot be a copy, in contrast to the majority of surviving Early Netherlandish drawings. While it has not been possible to attribute it to a known artist, its characteristic penwork and use of hatching can be found in at least one other drawing by the same hand: a less well-preserved and more heavily retouched sheet at the British Museum (Fig. 1; inv. SL,5237.95; see A.E. Popham, Dutch and Flemish drawings of the XV and XVI centuries, London, 1932, p. 63, no. 8, pl. XXII). Both drawings were once in the collection of the Flemish-born painter active in England, Prosper Henry Lankrink, and must have been part of a larger series of female saints. The drawing in London depicts Martha, as stated in its inscription at top. Although the inscription on the present sheet cannot be read, the attributes carried by the saint indicate she must be the princess and scholar Catherine of Alexandria, whose life ended with her beheading.