Alessandro Magnasco, called Lissandrino

Unidentified collector's mark, encircled lion rampant;
sale, London, Christie's, 4 July 2000, lot 115

Related to a painting formerly in the collection of Benno Geiger (fig.1), in which, contrary to the present work, the shepherd appears to distance himself from the shepherdess, rather than embracing her.

The combination of media found in the O'Brien drawing, with its broad washes and abundant white heightening, is typical of Magnasco's highly distinctive graphic style and can be compared to other surviving drawings by the artist, two similar examples of which can be found in the collection of the Albertina, Vienna.¹

1. See V. Birke & J. Kertész, Die Italienischen Zeichnungen der Albertina, vol. I, Munich 1991, pp. 187-188, figs. 226-227