Lot 78
  • 78

Pietro Antonio Novelli

Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Pietro Antonio Novelli
  • a male nude lying on a rock
  • Pen and brown ink and several shades of brown wash, heightened with white, on paper washed gray-brown;
    bears old attribution in pen and brown ink: F Ribera

Provenance

Galerie Terrades-Grunspan, Paris; acquired in 1998

Condition

Laid down, small hole bottom edge left of center. Paper seems to have been folded like a blind at some point so there are horizontal creases at regular intervals all across the page.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

In this characteristic example of Novelli's figure style, the artist prepared the paper with a colored wash, a technique that he used with some frequency.  Novelli, a pupil of Jacopo Amigoni, became a prolific draughtsman and printmaker and also had an extremely successful career as a decorative painter in Venice and the surrounding terra firma. This flying figure is undoubtedly related to one of those projects.  Although Novelli recorded many of his commissions and patrons in a carefully-written autobiography, that text has not revealed the purpose of the present study.