Hendrick Goltzius

The following condition report has been provided by Caroline Corrigan, 17-25 rue Charles Graindorge, 93170 Bagnolet, Tel: 33 (0)1 43 63 25 44, Email : caroline.corrigan@wanadoo.fr, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. Generally in good condition. A little light brown stain at the upper right of the sheet. The right margin also has a brown stain of 7cm long. Below this is a triangular abrasion, made up with dark grey hatching. Apart from these areas the drawing and paper are in an excellent state.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

La tête d'homme que nous présentons, jamais encore publiée, constitue un exemple très caractéristique de l'œuvre de Goltzius et se rapproche plus particulièrement de la série de dix gravures illustrant des Héros romains, réalisée par l'artiste en 1586.¹  Bien que les sujets des gravures, à la musculature prononcée, soient représentées en pied, on retrouve dans notre dessin le même casque antique très élaboré, de larges moustaches et l'expression dramatique qui se lit sur le visage. Cette spécificité de figure au caractère puissant apparaît également dans deux gravures sur bois en chiaroscuro illustrant le dieu Mars, exécutées par Goltzius vers 1588-90,²  mais ne se retrouve que rarement dans les autres œuvres du maître.

Ce fut au cours de la période qui précéda son voyage en Italie, entre 1586 et 1590, que son travail fut le plus influencé par Bartholomeus Spranger, dont il avait pu approcher les dessins quelques années auparavant par l'intermédiaire de Karel van Mander. La plupart des dessins de Goltzius à cette époque ont été exécutés à la pointe de métal, ou à la plume et encre avec rehauts de lavis, dans un style plutôt angulaire et maniériste qui rappelle l'influence de Michiel Coxie, mais qui se rapproche également de Spranger. En effet, la série de gravures des Héros romains était même dédiée au grand protecteur de Spranger, Rodolphe II, empereur du Saint-Empire. Par l'usage que Goltzius fait ici de la craie noire et son traitement plus fluide, il annonce dans notre dessin certaines œuvres qu'il allait réaliser pendant et après son séjour en Italie, parmi lesquelles la magnifique copie d'après le Moïse de Michel-Ange daté de 1591 (Musée Teylers, Haarlem) ou encore l'étude plus tardive (1606) de Tête de Femme, conservée à Braunschweig.³

Bien qu'étant stylistiquement comparable aux gravures des Héros romains, notre dessin n'en constitue cependant pas une étude mais semble plutôt se présenter comme une réinterpretation du même sujet par l'artiste. L'assurance dont Goltzius fait preuve dans ce dessin, et l'approche plus classicisante, permettent d'émettre deux idées: soit l'artiste maniait la craie noire de manière subtile et énergique tôt dans sa carrière, parallèlement à ses créations maniéristes à la plume et à l'encre, dans le style de Spranger, soit ce dessin fut exécuté après les gravures des Héros romains. D'une manière ou d'une autre, ce dessin constitue un apport important dans l'œuvre de Goltzius.

1. Bartsch, p. 94-103.
2. Voir N. Bialler, Chiaroscuro Woodcuts, Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617) and his Time,  cat. d'exp., Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, et Cleveland Museum of Art, 1992-93, cat. nos. 24 et34. 
3. E.K.J. Reznicek, Die Zeichnungen von Hendrick Goltzius, 2 volumes, Utrecht 1961, cat. nos. K232 et K361, reproduit dans vol. II, figs. 185 et 415.



HEAD OF AN ANTIQUE WARRIOR

Black chalk;
signed with monogram lower right


The figure depicted in this previously unrecorded but characteristic drawing by Goltzius is closely comparable to those in the series of ten prints depicting Roman Heroes, which the artist executed in 1586.¹ Although those prints show their heavily muscled subjects in full length, the formula of elaborate, classical helmets, extensive moustaches and dramatic facial expressions is exactly what we see in this drawing. This distinctive and powerful figure type is also seen in the two chiaroscuro woodcuts depicting Mars, which Goltzius produced circa 1588-90,² but is found in few if any other works by the artist.

It was during the period between 1586 and Goltzius' departure for Italy in 1590 that his work was most clearly influenced by Bartholomeus Spranger, whose drawings Goltzius had been shown a couple of years earlier by none other than Karel van Mander. Most of Goltzius' drawings of this period are executed either in metalpoint or in pen and ink with wash, in a rather angular and mannered style that still reflects the earlier influence of Michiel Coxie, yet also strongly parallels the style of Spranger; indeed, the series of prints of Roman Heroes was even dedicated to Spranger's great patron, the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. Yet in its use of the black chalk medium and its very fluid handling, the present drawing also looks forward to some of the works that Goltzius was to produce during and after his Italian journey, such as the magnificent 1591 copy after Michelangelo's sculpture of Moses, (Teylers Museum, Haarlem), or even the much later (1606) Study of the Head of a Woman, in Braunschweig.³

Though clearly in the same visual idiom as the prints of the Roman Heroes, the present drawing is not a study for any of those prints, and would appear to be an independent exploration by the artist of the same visual theme.  The drawing's assured yet somewhat classicising handling indicates either that Goltzius was using black chalk in this accomplished and powerful way rather earlier than we previously thought, alongside his productions in pen and ink in a more mannerist, Sprangeresque mode, or that this drawing was actually made rather later than the Roman Heroes prints. Either way, it is an important, as well as appealing, addition to the artist's known oeuvre.  

1.  Bartsch 94-103.
2.  See N. Bialler, Chiaroscuro Woodcuts, Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617) and his Time, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, and Cleveland Museum of Art, 1992-93, cat. nos. 24 and 34.
3.  E.K.J. Reznicek, Die Zeichnungen von Hendrick Goltzius, 2 vols, Utrecht 1961, cat. nos. K232 and K361, reprocuded vol. II, figs. 185 and 415.