St. John the Baptist in Prison receives Christ’s answer, (Matthew II: 2-6)
pen and brown ink, brown wash, with corrections in white gouache
190 x 244 mm.
Provenance
A. Artaria (Lugt 33), sale, Vienna 6th – 13th May 1896, lot 1042; R. Ph. Goldschmidt (Lugt 2926), sale, Prestel, Frankfurt-am-Main. 4th – 5th October 1917, lot 278, pl. 5; Nebehay Gallery, Berlin, Die Zeichnung III, no. 61, reproduced; P & D Colnaghi; C.R. Rudolf, sale, Amsterdam, Sotheby's, 6th June 1977, lot 95; Private collection, Channel Islands
Literature
Josef Schönbrunner & Joseph Meder, ‘Handzeichnungen alter Meister’, Vienna, 1896, no. 1411, reproduced; F.R. Earp, 1930, p. 424; Christopher White, ‘Old Master Drawings from the Collection of Mr C.R. Rudolf’, 1962, no. 104; George S. Keyes, 1977, p. 51, no. 95, p 50, reproduced in colour; Gianni C. Sciolla, 1978, p. 7, under no. 6d; W. Sumowski, ‘Drawings of the Rembrandt School’, 1981, vol. V, no. 1188x.
Exhibited
London, Royal Academy, ‘Drawings by Old Masters’, 1953, no. 324; London, Arts Council, ‘Old Master Drawings from the Collection of Mr C.R. Rudolf’, 1962, no. 104
Hoogstraten entered Rembrandt’s studio in December 1640, and the latter’s influence was profound. In this wonderfully preserved sheet, Hoogstraten emulated not only Rembrandt’s painterly use of broad and sweeping brush strokes, but also his practice of using white gouache for purposes of correction. Indeed the part played by Rembrandt may have been even more significant. The drawing’s previous owner, C.R. Rudolf, noted on the old mount that Professor I.Q. Regteren van Altena, the Chief Curator at the Rijksprentenkabinet, Amsterdam, saw the drawing in 1970. The Professor commented that “This drawing was executed under the eye of Rembrandt himself, who brought to life his pupil’s somewhat empty composition by adding in his own hand the empty doorway with the soldier on guard on the right, and maybe the window under which St John is seated, framing with a final touch the complete design in a bold line of wash.” Rembrandt made many corrections to his pupil’s drawings. However, in this case Sumowski does not comment on it. He dates the drawing to c. 1649. It appears that Hoogstraten devoted particular care to the composition of this drawing, as there are two other studies of the Baptist and his visitors. One is in the Seger Collection, Toronto, the other is in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg. Keyes considers them as preparatory studies for this drawing.
