Lot 47: Joseph Heintz the Elder , Basel 1564 - 1609 Prague Minerva with a putto Pen and brown ink and wash over black chalk with touches of white heightening, incised for transfer, within black ink framing lines; bears attribution in pencil, verso : Domenico

Pen and brown ink and wash over black chalk with touches of white heightening, incised for transfer, within black ink framing lines; bears attribution in pencil, verso : Domenico Curea

measurements note 116 by 97 mm

This newly-discovered drawing appears to be preparatory for a section of a larger allegorical composition by Heintz, known only from a copy by Anton Gasser (fig. 1), which, according to an autograph inscription on the verso, he drew on 1 December 1610, after Heintz's death.υ1 Heintz must have made certain changes after completing this study, as Gasser's drawing differs slightly in the position of the putto's hands, Minerva's drapery, the position of her outstretched arm and also the object she holds. In a recent discussion with the present owner, Jürgen Zimmer confirmed the attribution and dated the drawing to circa 1590-1609, the period in which Heintz was working at the court of Rudolf II. 1. Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, inv. no. K.d.Z., no. 7212; see J. Zimmer, Joseph Heintz der Ältere Zeichnungen und Dokumente, Berlin 1988, p. 298, cat. no. E18, fig. 169