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Allegory of the Arts and War (?) (formerly 'Artist painting a picture of Venus')

Maker

Circle of
(artist)
1590-1660

Formerly attributed to
(artist)
1601-1667

Formerly attributed to
(artist)
1600-1699

Title

Date of Production

1600 - 1699

Medium

pen and brown ink, brown wash on laid paper, with unrelated earlier traces of red chalk

Dimensions

Height: 14.7 cm
Width: 23 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.106

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

The seated figures at left appear to be an artist and his model who points toward a female standing nude accompanied by putti. Holding a bowl in her left hand and an arrow in her right, she might be Minerva, goddess of the arts and of war. The two putti at right, who are playing with a shield and armour, support this suggestion. The agitated pen strokes, including zigzags, are characteristic of the graphic work of March and his circle.

Provenance

John Rushout, 2nd Earl of Northwick (1770-1859); his estate sale, Sotheby's (London), 1-4 November 1920, lot 310 (as Cano, 'An artist painting a woman'); F.R. Meatyard (London); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), n.d. (£3.35); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Narrative Folds (Pop-up exhibition), The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/06/2013-01/06/2013

The Spanish Line - From Ribera to Picasso, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 13/10/2011-15/01/2012

Literature

Véliz, Zahira, Spanish Drawings in the Courtauld Gallery: complete catalogue, London, 2011
no. 83
Illus. p. 237

Anthony Blunt and Philip Troutman, Master Drawings from the Witt and Courtauld Collections, 1962
cat. no. 69
Illus. p. 20

Wethey, Harold E., 'Alonso Cano's drawings' in 'The Art Bulletin', 1952 - pp. 217-38; XXXIV, 3
p. 233
under 'Copies and Wrong Attributions' to Cano

Inscriptions

Watermark: lower centre: small shield containing a key? No match found in Briquet, Piccard or Heawood.

Inscription: Recto: upper right corner, red chalk, cut off at edge: “La renom[...]” [as in 'La renombre' - renown or fame?]; lower centre, dark brown ink - illegible, a scribble addition to the drawing, or an inscription?; lower left corner, brown ink: “Alonso Cano”. Verso (backing sheet): lower right, graphite, same hand as D.1952.RW.2413: “mo / 7”.

Collector's mark: none.

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