Lot 74: The head of Christ

Jacob de Wit (Amsterdam 1695-1754) The head of Christ signed ‘JdWit’ (recto) black and white chalk, stumping, light brown wash 14 7/8 x 11 1/8 in. (37.8 x 28.2 cm.)

37.8 x 28.2 cm.

C. Ploos van Amstel (L. 2034), with his associated inscription (verso). V. van Gogh; De Roos, Amsterdam, 2-3 December 1913, lot 900.

The present drawing is preparatory for the head of Christ of the Resurrection of Christ, painting today in the Catharijneconvent Museum in Utrecht (G. van de Hout and R. Schillemans, Putti en Cherubijntjes : Het religieuze werk van Jacob de Wit (1695-1754), Haarlem-Amsterdam, 1995, no. 63, p. 144, ill.). A few preparatory drawings for this painting exist; one representing the composition in full belonged, as the present sheet, to the Van Gogh collection and was also sold in 1913 (De Roos, Amsterdam, 2-3 December 1913, lot 906; van de Hout and R. Schillemans, op. cit., p. 145).