FRENCH SCHOOL, EARLY 17TH CENTURY | Recto: A tavern scene with music and merrymaking around a tableVerso: A partial study of a leg

Leonard Baskin (1922-2000)

Hinge mounted to a modern acid free card backing, which has in turn been hinged to a mount. There is some very slight discoloration to the paper however the pen and ink remains in predominantly good condition throughout with the image strong. The ink has fractionally sunk in the right hand figure, where the artist has applied the ink more densely. There are some slight abrasions to the lower left corner and some show through from the verso in the upper left quarter. Sold in a modern imitation darkwood frame.
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Whilst the scene of merriment found in this intriguing drawing, with cavaliers portrayed in the company of a buxom wench, as drinks are poured and music played, is reminiscent of the tavern scenes made popular by Dutch artists of the period, the atmospheric lighting and interplay between the protagonists also shows a clear debt to Caravaggio. Indeed this drawing appears, compositionally speaking, closer to the paintings of French Caravaggisti, such as Jean Le Clerc (circa 1585-1632) and Valentin de Boulogne (1594-1632), and is handled in a manner more in keeping with drawings by artists active in Lorraine in the early 17th century, such as Georges Lallemand (1575-1636), rather than their counterparts from the Low Countries.