Lot 18. Mattia Preti (Taverna 1613-1699 Valletta), A young man kneeling with a basket, with inscription in pencil '26 Agosto 1829' in modern hand (verso), red chalk, traces of black chalk, indented with the stylus, 15 x 10 ¾ in. (37.8 x 27.5 cm). Estimate USD 40,000 - USD 60,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Provenance: A. Chariatte, London (d. 1923) (L. 88a); Sotheby's, London, 30 April 1923, probably part of lot 7 (as Carlo Maratti).
Sir John Clermont Witt, London (1907-1982) (L. 646a).
Sotheby's, London, 19 February 1987, lot 260 (as Bolognese School, c. 1675).

Property of Margot Gordon.

Literature: M. Aldega, M. Gordon, Italian Drawings. XVI to XVIII Century, Rome 1987, no. 28, ill.
C. Strinati, M. Marini and C. Ippoliti, Mattia Preti. Disegno e colore, Catanzaro 1991, pp. 154, 265-66, no. 51, ill. 

Exhibited: London, The Courtauld Gallery, The John Witt Collection. Part I: European Schools, 1963, no. 19 (as Annibale Carracci).

Note: Developing the heroic style of Raphael and Annibale Carracci, this powerful sheet may relate to the young shepherd, kneeling at left, in Preti's Adoration of the Shepherds (fig. 1), datable to the end of the artist's stay in Naples, circa 1660-61. Despite some differences, both works capture the figure from below and share the emphasis on the young man's muscular arm and shoulder. A similar model, caught in a strikingly close attitude, can be found in a drawing in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Strinati, Marini and Ippoliti, op. cit., no. 23, ill.). The present sheet stands out in the artist's œuvre for its scale and technique, with bold strokes of red chalk – Preti's signature medium – over exploratory lines in black chalk. The figure's outlines were forcefully indented with a stylus to transfer the design onto another sheet.

Fig. 1. Mattia Preti, The Adoration of the Shepherds, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.

Christie's. Old Master & British Drawings, 30 January 2018, New York