Northern School
18th century
Pen and ink with wash on paper
Sheet 12 in (30.5 cm) by 8 ¼ in (21 cm); framed 18 in (45.7 cm) by 14 ¾ in (37.5 cm)
Provenance: Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
The Virgin sits at the upper left with the Christ Child held to her, turned toward two kneeling men below while winged putti scatter through the air above. The nearer figure is an older bearded man who holds a tall staff crowned with an elaborate finial, and beside him a younger man in fringed hunting dress kneels with a stag rising at the right edge. The scene is drawn in fluid pen line with passages of brown wash for shadow, the sheet toned with age and marked by scattered foxing and old damp staining at the lower edge.
The younger man and the stag point to the vision of a hunter saint, the motif shared by Saint Hubert and Saint Eustace, both of whom are said to have seen a crucifix appear between a stag's antlers while hunting. A monogram or collector's mark is drawn at the lower left, so far unidentified. The composition, the handling of the putti, and the wash technique are consistent with a Northern European workshop drawing of the eighteenth century.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Northern School
18th century
Pen and ink with wash on paper
Sheet 12 in (30.5 cm) by 8 ¼ in (21 cm); framed 18 in (45.7 cm) by 14 ¾ in (37.5 cm)
Provenance: Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
The Virgin sits at the upper left with the Christ Child held to her, turned toward two kneeling men below while winged putti scatter through the air above. The nearer figure is an older bearded man who holds a tall staff crowned with an elaborate finial, and beside him a younger man in fringed hunting dress kneels with a stag rising at the right edge. The scene is drawn in fluid pen line with passages of brown wash for shadow, the sheet toned with age and marked by scattered foxing and old damp staining at the lower edge.
The younger man and the stag point to the vision of a hunter saint, the motif shared by Saint Hubert and Saint Eustace, both of whom are said to have seen a crucifix appear between a stag's antlers while hunting. A monogram or collector's mark is drawn at the lower left, so far unidentified. The composition, the handling of the putti, and the wash technique are consistent with a Northern European workshop drawing of the eighteenth century.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
