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Milkmaid seated

Maker

(artist)
1631-1664

Title

Milkmaid seated

Date of Production

1600 - 1699

Medium

red chalk, moistened in areas, on buff laid paper, with vestiges of a graphite and brown ink framing line at all sides now trimmed away, laid down

Dimensions

Height: 25.8 cm
Width: 19 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.1513

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

milk jugs

Notes

In the last four years of his life, Bega made drawings of single models in a monumental style, likely influenced by the work of his father, the sculptor Pieter Jansz. Begeyn. Drawn from life, this study of a seated milkmaid was produced as a work of art in its own right, rather than as a preparatory sketch for a painting. Bega’s figure studies often use a strong contrast between light and shade. Here, the milkmaid is illuminated from the left, emphasising the creases in the fabric of her dress. Bega deepens the shadows of the dark background in places by moistening the chalk. The use of straight lines and hatching is reminiscent of techniques used in printmaking to produce tonal contrast; this reflects the artist’s skill as an etcher of genre scenes.

Provenance

H.E. Morritt; his sale, Sotheby's (London), 22 March 1923, lot 2 (as 'A Girl seated on a tub'); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b (£3.55, along with two others, including RW.1514); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Eleganz und raue Sitten, Staatliche Museum, Berlin, Germany, 01/07/2012-02/10/2012

Eleganz und raue Sitten, Suermondt-Ludwig Museum, Aachen, Germany, 15/03/2012-10/06/2012

Master Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 16/10/1991-19/01/1992 ...More

Dutch drawings from the Witt Collection: Part 2: Other than landscape, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1976-77 (Nov.-Feb.)

De Jerome Bosch à Rembrandt: dessins hollandais du XVI au XVII siecle, Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, 01/11/1937-01/01/1938

Oxford Arts Club, Oxford, 1929

catalogue untraced, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1924 ...Less

Literature

Master Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1991
cat. no. 6
pp. 20, 172
p. 21

Scott, Mary Ann, Cornelius Bega (1631/32-1664) as painter and draughtsman, Ann Arbor 1984
no. D21
accepted as Bega

Dutch drawings from the Witt Collection: Part 2: Other than landscape, Courtauld Gallery, London, November 1976 - Febr
cat. no. 37
no. 37 ...More

De Jerome Bosch à Rembrandt: dessins hollandais du XVI au XVII siecle, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, November 1937 - January 1938, 1937-38
cat. no. 120 or 121
p. 49
pl. LXXV ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: unable to check due to backing sheet.

Inscription: Verso: lower right, graphite: "Cornelius Bega"; lower centre, graphite, last word abraded: "Bega (C) - Study of a Milk Maid, re[...]".

Collector's mark: Verso (backing sheet): lower right edge, stamped in black ink: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).

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