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Design for a pilaster (recto)

Maker

Germany (South) or Switzerland 16th century (Artists)
1500-1599

Title

Date of Production

1500 - 1599

Medium

pen and black ink, grey wash, watercolour and bodycolour, executed using a ruler, on two sheets of laid paper joined at lower centre with an extra strip of paper added to the verso over the join and two small strips added to the recto over the join; on the separate strip on the verso is a black chalk drawing; the paper has been trimmed to the contours of the drawing (examined under microscope)

Dimensions

Height: 54.3 cm
Width: 17.8 cm

Accession Number

D.1984.AB.134

Mode of Acquisition

Anthony Blunt, Art Fund bequest & grant aid, 1984

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

This Italianate pilaster reflects the absorption of classical motifs by Northern European artists and architects of the Renaissance. The grotesques, made up of dolphins and hermaphrodites, and the delicate symmetry and imitation of low relief are typical of the period’s interest in the antique style. Despite the unsuccessful perspective in the design of the base, the drawing’s finished quality indicates that it could have been used as a model for interior decoration.

Provenance

possibly unidentified collector, L.2026d; Dr Carl Robert Rudolf, London (1884-1974); purchased from him by Alister Mathews, Bournemouth (1907-1985); purchased from him and given to Professor Anthony Blunt (1907-1983) on the occasion of his retirement from The Courtauld, 1974; Blunt Bequest via the Art Fund 1984

Exhibition History

Special Display - German drawings, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 21/06/2007-23/09/2007

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: repeated at upper and lower centre: large snake twisted around a cross above half of a sun [see photos in file, similar types in Piccard 43581-43606, 16th and 17th centuries, but none above a sun].

Inscription: Support (historic), Verso: right upper edge, on remnant of adhesive, graphite: "686 P"; lower centre, graphite: "No. 1027 / 2H" [perhaps L.2026d?]; lower left corner, graphite, underlined: "1997"; lower right corner, graphite: "P"; lower right corner, on adhesive now mostly removed, graphite: "[...]2".

Collector's mark: none (unless the inscription above is indeed L.2026d).

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