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Head of a young man

Maker

Attributed to
(artist)
1646-1723

Title

Head of a young man

Date of Production

1712

Medium

black, red, white chalk on heavy brown laid paper, laid down

Dimensions

Height: 35.1 cm
Width: 27.9 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.2829

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 attribution of this drawing is uncertain; the inscription 'G. Kneller 1712' on the lower left is not in Kneller's hand. However, the fact that at least one close copy survives (at the Yale Center for British Art) suggests that it may have been produced by Kneller not as a study for a painting but as a finished work of art in its own right, and that it was used as an example of good practice for students at his Queen Street Academy to copy.

Notes

Kneller, born in Germany and trained in Amsterdam, became the court painter of Charles II in 1680 after the death of the prominent portrait painter Sir Peter Lely.

Provenance

H.Y. Algar; anonymous sale, Christie's (London), 22 February 1937, lot 2; purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), for 262 shillings; Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Drawing in 18th Century Britain, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 18/03/1995-21/05/1995

Sir Godfrey Kneller, National Portrait Gallery, London, 1971-1972

Drawings from the Witt Collection at the Courtauld Institute of Art, St James's Square, London; York City Art Gallery; Peterborough Art Gallery, 1953 ...More

Exhibition of Stuart Drawings, Red Lodge, Bristol, 12/06/1952-12/07/1952

Three Centuries of British Watercolours and Drawings, Arts Council of Great Britain, London, 1951

Old Masters from the Witt Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 01/01/1943-01/05/1943 ...Less

Literature

Sir Godfrey Kneller, National Portrait Gallery, London, 1971-1972
cat. no. 49
ill.

Stewart, J.D., 'Some Drawings by Sir Godfrey Kneller' in 'The Connoisseur', July 1964
no. 71

Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 30 ...More

Drawings from the Witt Collection at the Courtauld Institute of Art, St James's Square, London, York City Art Gallery and Peterborough Art Gallery, 1953
cat. no. 19

Exhibition of Stuart Drawings, Red Lodge, Bristol, 1952
cat. no. 24

Woodward, John O., Tudor and Stuart Drawings, London: Faber and Faber, 1951
pl. 62

Three Centuries of British Watercolours and Drawings, Arts Council of Great Britain, London, 1951
cat. no. 102 ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: upper centre (in figure's forehead): bunch of grapes on a stem (unable to see clearly enough to count them).

Inscription: Recto: lower left, brown ink, signed and dated: "GKneller 1712".

Collector's mark: none.

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