Lot 540: Pietro Novelli, il Monrealese (Monreale 1603-1647 Palermo)

Pietro Novelli, il Monrealese (Monreale 1603-1647 Palermo)
Saints Francis and Clare interceding with the Madonna on behalf of a town (recto); Figure studies (verso)
with inscription 'AS'
black chalk, pen and black ink, lower right corner made up
10¾ x 8 in. (27.3 x 20.3 cm.)

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 28 March 1968, lot 110, as 'Flemish School, circa 1600'.
Anonymous sale; Piasa, 18 March 2005, lot 30.

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
Pietro Novelli, who came from a family of Sicilian painters, worked predominantly in and around Palermo, although in later life he also undertook commissions in Rome. This drawing was part of a group sold at Sotheby's, London, 28 March 1968, lots 108-17. The attribution of this group to Novelli, suggested before the sale, has since been unanimously confirmed.