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Fishing with dipnets in the river Arno, Florence

Maker

(artist)
1523-1605

Title

Date of Production

(circa) 1578

Medium

pen and brown ink, blue wash, white bodycolour on laid paper, incised for transfer, with brown ink framing lines, the lower left corner having been done on a separate piece of paper added to the sheet

Dimensions

Height: 20.3 cm
Width: 29.3 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.283

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

Notes

Around 1561, Stradanus was commissioned by Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici to prepare designs for a series of 28 tapestries of hunting scenes to decorate his villa at Poggio a Caiano; several series of engravings were published after these designs. This scene was engraved for a 1580 series, published by Philips Galle, comprising 44 hunting subjects with a dedication to Cosimo de' Medici - this is plate 41.

Provenance

possibly Bernard Quaritch (London), in 1881 (if part of no. 3521 in his Catalogue of works on natural history, physics, mathematics, and other sciences offered for sale at the cash prices affixed, described as ‘Sixty original drawings by Stradanus, of Field Sports, Hunting Wild Animals, Fowling, Fishing &c.’) or 1890 (if part of no. 155 in his catalogue Exhibition of books and manuscripts, described as ‘Sixty original tinted Drawings by the painter Jan Stradanus’); possibly purchased there by William A. Baillie-Grohman, London and Tyrol (1851-1921); by descent to his wife; his estate sale, Sotheby’s (London), 14 May 1923, lot 162 (along with D.1952.RW.269, 281, 1633-1635); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b (£3.5); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

The Witt Collection - Four centuries of drawings, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/04/2004-20/06/2004

Literature

Leesberg, Marjolein, The New Hollstein: Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts 1450-1700, vol. 19, Johannes Stradanus, Oudekerk aan den Ijssel 2008
under no. 460 on p. 146

Master Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1991
p. 193, no. 65, note 10

Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 130

Inscriptions

Watermark: centre, traced in black chalk on verso: shield with crown or tower in upper portion, two diagonal bands in lower portion (no match in Briquet and Peter Bower had no further information. Same paper as on RW.269, 281, 1634 and 1635).

Collector's mark: Removed and now mounted with the drawing, stamped in black ink: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).

Inscription: Recto: lower right edge, brown ink, signed by the artist, partially trimmed away: "Stradanus".

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