Lot 13: NICOLÒ DELL' ABATE

SAINT ANTHONY ABBOT KNEELING, THE YOUNG ST JOHN THE BAPTIST BESIDE HIM

7 by 8 in; 177 by 202 mm

Red chalk. Indistinctly inscribed in red chalk at the top: Co...dela maria. Bears old attribution in pen and brown ink at the bottom of the old mount: De Nicholò del Abate.

Sale, London, Christie's, 26 November 1974, lot 7, reproduced pl. 3 (to Rudolf Joseph Monte);
London, Private collection

The drawing bears an old attribution to Nicolò dell'Abate which has been endorsed by Sylvie Beguin. The subtle use of the orange chalk and the quickness of the lines are quite characteristic of the artist. The unusual iconography suggests that it might have been intended for a banner perhaps commissioned by a religious order.