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Lot Essay
This is a very fine example of Marcantonio Bassetti’s oil sketches on paper. Conceived as independent works of art, such works were already highly prized by collectors in the 17th Century. A large group of similar oil sketches by the artist, probably from the collection of Consul Joseph Smith, are in the Royal Collection at Windsor (A. Blunt and E. Croft-Murray, Venetian Drawings of the XVII & XVIII centuries in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, London, 1957, nos. 1-21).
As revealed by the mount, this work was part of the prestigious collection of Charles-François de Calvière, marquis de Calvière, a prominent 18th Century collector who was a friend of the most important connoisseurs of his time, such as Pierre-Jean Mariette and Pierre Crozat. Calvière’s collection of drawings was only dispersed at auction in 2003 (Christie’s, Paris, 17 December 2003).
As revealed by the mount, this work was part of the prestigious collection of Charles-François de Calvière, marquis de Calvière, a prominent 18th Century collector who was a friend of the most important connoisseurs of his time, such as Pierre-Jean Mariette and Pierre Crozat. Calvière’s collection of drawings was only dispersed at auction in 2003 (Christie’s, Paris, 17 December 2003).