Unknown

The Introduction, French School, 18th century

1750

Red crayon on brown light-wove paper, 6 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches (172 x 121 mm). Light toning and extremely minor, small losses at the very extreme top right and left corners (1/8-inch).

Black chalk and graphite on light weight cream wove paper, 16 1/8 x 11 1/4 inches, (410 x 286 mm), the full sheet. Signed, titled, and dated in sepia ink in the lower-center sheet area. With horizontal folds approximately 1-inch from the sheet edge at each of the four sheets. The drawing appears to have been folded at the sheet edges to fit into a frame. Finn mac Cumail (or mac Umaill), often anglicized Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is the leader of the Fianna bands of young roving hunter-warriors, as well as being a seer and poet. He is said to have a magic thumb that bestows him with great wisdom. He is often depicted hunting with his hounds Bran and Sceólang, and fighting with his spear and sword. Fionn MacCumhail was transformed into the character "Fingal" in James Macpherson's poem cycle Ossian (1760), which Macpherson claimed was translated out of discovered Ossianic poetry written in the Scottish Gaelic language. Fionn MacCumhail features heavily in modern Irish literature. Most notably he makes several appearances in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake...

A lovely, early drawing of the Roman god Mercury. Pen and brown ink on cream laid paper, with a partial crown and shield watermark, 7 1/4 x 4 7/8 inches (184x 123 mm) (matrix). In go...

Brownish ink and grayish ink wash with white heightening on handmade cream laid paper, 10 5/8 x 8 1/4 inches (267 x 208 mm)(matrix). Scattered minor losses to top sheet edge (outside...

A virtuoso charcoal sketch by the Frech 19th Century master Gustave Jean Jacquet (1846-1904). It depicts a thoughtful woman (or woman in thought?) with her face resting on her hand...

An exceptional ink, wash and graphite portrait of a gentleman by Henri-Joseph Hesse, dating from circa 1820, the time of the Bourbon restoration in France. It depicts a dashing figur...

"A Sense of Balance" - Figurative Harlequin Clown Watercolor on Heavy Paper Watercolor of three clowns by Sefla Joseph (Canadian, 20th Century). Three clowns are standing closely to...

"Sacred Arts" - Figurative Harlequin Clown Watercolor on Heavy Paper Watercolor of two clowns by Sefla Joseph (Canadian, 20th Century). The clowns stand next to each other, hands intertwined. They are wearing bright red and orange clothing...