Description:

inscribed on mount by Jonathan Richardson Sr.: M. Ange [L.2995]
pen and brown ink, red chalk, traces of black chalk
90 x 45 mm

Provenance:

Jonathan Richardson Sr. (1665-1745), London [L.2995]
Jonathan Richardson Jr. (1694-1771), London [L.2170]
Presumably his sale, Langford's, London: 5 February 1772
Benjamin West (1738-1820), London [Lugt 419]
Private collection, Italy

Note:

Born in Liège in 1505/6, Lambert Lombard was among the first Netherlandish artists to travel to Rome, following in the footsteps of Jan Gossaert, who is thought to have been one of his teachers, and Maarten van Heemskerck. In 1537 he was sent to the Eternal City by his patron, Érard de La Marck, Prince-Bishop of Liège, to acquire works of art for his collection, and he spent two years there. Lombard returned in 1539 with a transformed artistic outlook, convinced that the finest qualities of the great Italian masters derived from the study of antique models. For him, ancient sculpture became the supreme guide for contemporary art. He remained in Liège for the rest of his career, where he founded the first art academy north of the Alps.

This drawing of an elderly man leaning on a stick is a characteristic example of the classical style Lombard developed during his Roman sojourn and refined upon his return to the Low Countries. It belongs to a substantial group of studies of single figures, typically exploring drapery, movement, or the antique. Many of these drawings are preserved in two albums in the Cabinet des Estampes et des Dessins de la Ville de Liège: the Album de Clérembault and the Album d’Arenberg. In the present sheet, Lombard focused on weight distribution and the fall of the drapery, beginning with indications in red chalk before elaborating the figure in brown ink. The pose was absorbed into his formal repertoire and reappears in later compositions, including the figure to the right of centre in The Resurrection of Lazarus (c. 1554), known through two finished drawings in the Musée Wittert, University of Liège, and the Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf.

We are grateful to Dr. Edward Wouk for confirming the attribution to the previous owner.

Please contact us for a full catalogue entry.