Lot 394: DOMENICO MARIA FRATTA

BOLOGNA 1696 - 1763 ESTHER BEFORE AHASUERUS Pen and brown ink, within brown ink framing lines 390 by 472 mm (sheet size)

Sale, London, Christie's, 3 April 1995, lot 89, purchased by Ralph Holland

As Ralph Holland wrote in his notes, this drawing shows Fratta at his closest to the style of his master, Donato Creti. A group of similar drawings with mythological subjects are at Windsor Castle.1 Creti's painting of The Queen of Sheba before Solomon shows some similarities in the composition, such as the presence of the negro page at the left.2 1. O. Kurz, Bolognese Drawings...at Windsor Castle, London 1955, nos. 243-254 2. R. Roli, Donato Creti, Milan 1967, p. 93, no. 64, reproduced fig. 67