Lot 171: Andries Both (1612/3-1641)

The happy painter: a painter at his easel with two assistants grinding colours and drawing illegibly inscribed and numbered 'No 63' ( verso ) black chalk on vellum, pen and brown ink framing lines, the corners cut 173 x 150 mm. NOTES This drawing was executed as a pair along with one of The distressed painter now in the Bristish Museum, London, A.M. Hind, Dutch Drawings of the XVII century, London, 1923, III, p. 43, no. 1, pl. XXIII (as P. de Bloot). The British Museum drawing is of exactly the same size and irregular shape as the present drawing. It bears the monogram of Peter de Bloot, but is related to a picture signed by Both, sold at Sotheby's London, 20 April 1994, lot 18. The painting was first engraved by Georg Walch (active in Nuremberg 1630-1655, Le Blanc 12) and again in France by Jean Lepautre and Nicolas Viennot. The picture is traditionally dated 1634 and was purportedly painted while the artist was crossing France to go to Italy. Two drawings by the same hand are in the Louvre, Paris, F. Lugt, Inventaire g‚n‚ral des dessins des Ecoles du Nord, Paris, 1929, nos. 121 and 131.