Lot number 3726 - Auction 155
DIE HEILIGE FAMILIE

17TH CENTURY BOLOGNA SCHOOL THE HOLY FAMILY Red chalk on chamois-coloured handmade paper. 27.5 x 38 cm. Slightly stained. Framed in a passe-partout. Half-length depiction of the Holy Family with Mary in the centre, the Christ Child and St. Joseph. The composition is characterised by great intimacy and tranquillity; the idealised heads are modelled with delicate red chalk lines and fine hatching, while the surroundings have been deliberately left unfinished. The drawing focuses on the emotional and spiritual connection between the figures and shows a searching, sketch-like conception typical of preparatory devotional studies of the early 17th century. The soft modelling, the calm, classicist conception of the figures and the lyrical devotional atmosphere are closely related to the Bolognese drawing art in the circle of Guido Reni and Francesco Albani. The sheet is to be understood as a workshop or related work of this tradition. The paper shows clearly visible chain lines and a fragmentary watermark in the form of a seven-pointed open crown with a floral motif in the centre point, a characteristic feature of early 17th-century Italian papers, which confirms the art-historical dating. Provenance: International private collection.