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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1991.479
People
Attributed to Jan de Bray, Dutch (Haarlem, Netherlands c. 1627 - 1697 Haarlem, Netherlands)
Title
A Woman Reading
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
17th century
Culture
Dutch
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/293691

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Black and red chalk [possibly a counterproof?] on off-white antique laid paper, framing line in brown ink
Dimensions
17.5 x 15.5 cm (6 7/8 x 6 1/8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: verso, lower left, black ink, pen: S: D: Braij
  • watermark: foolscap [not unlike Churchill 360 and 364 and Heawood 2027; Dutch, 1682, Dutch 1702, and London, 1685, respectively]
  • label: adhered to former mount: [cutting from sale catalog of Jacob de Vos]
  • inscription: former mount, lower left, graphite: facsimile in Ploos,
  • collector's mark: former mount, lower center, red ink, stamp: L. 1508 (John Postle Heseltine)
  • inscription: former mount, lower right, graphite: S de Bray / coll. Ploos v. Amstel (1726-98) / J. de Vos / J. de Vos jbzn (1803-82) / J. P. Heseltine

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Possibly Cornelis Ploos van Amstel, Amsterdam. Jacob de Vos Jacobszoon, Amsterdam (L. 1450); his sale, [de Vries, Brondgeest, Engelberts and Roos, Amsterdam, 30 October 1833, album L, no. 22)], sold; possibly to Jeronimo de Vries, Amsterdam. John Postle Heseltine, London (L. 1508 with his mark). Edward Speelman. Maida and George Abrams, Boston; [Sotheby's, New York, 13-14 January 1989, bought in], gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1991.

NOTE: There is some confusion as to whether this provenance belongs to this drawing or to the similar drawing in Weimar by Jan de Bray.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Maida and George S. Abrams
Accession Year
1991
Object Number
1991.479
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
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Publication History

  • Th. Laurentius and J. W. Niemeijer, Cornelis Ploos van Amstel 1726-1798: Kunstverzamelaar en prentuitgever, Van Gorcum & Company (Assen, 1980), cat. no. 63, p, 282, repr.

Subjects and Contexts

  • Dutch, Flemish, & Netherlandish Drawings

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu