Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
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Portrait Drawings and Watercolors For Sale
"Judy Garland" Legendary Film and Recording Star. Gay Icon. 20th Century Litho
Located in New York, NY
"Judy Garland" Legendary Film and Recording Star. Gay Icon. 20th Century Litho
Al Hirschfeld (1903 - 2003)
Judy Garland
20 x 15 inches (sight)
Etching
26 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches Framed...
Category
1970s Performance Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Board, Ink
G. A. Rochegrosse (1859-1938) A zither player, small signed drawingdrawing
Located in Paris, FR
Georges Antoine Rochegrosse (1859-1938)
A zither player
carbon pencil on thin paper
8.5 x 3.3 cm
In good condition
Framed : 35 x 24 cm
Provenance: Estate of the artist and by Inher...
Category
1910s Symbolist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Carbon Pencil
Male Nude Pencil Drawing by Bernard Sleigh RBSA (circa 1900-1920)
Located in London, GB
Male Nude pencil drawing on wove paper (circa 1900-1920), by Bernard Sleigh, RBSA (Provenance: from the artist's studio). An exquisite drawing which is possibly a study for a larger ...
Category
Early 20th Century Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper
Art Deco Portrait of a Young Blonde
By Franc Root McCreery
Located in Buffalo, NY
A beautiful pastel portrait by American female modern artist Franc Root McCreery
Franc Root McCreery
(1888-1957)
Born: Dodge City, Kansas, US
Franc Root M...
Category
1920s Art Deco Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, Paper
The Cabaret Dancer
Located in London, GB
'The Cabaret Dancer', crayon on art paper, by Kolomon Moore (circa 1930s). The Crazy Years (les Années Folles) of Paris in the 1920s hit an abrupt end in...
Category
1930s Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Crayon
Mother and Child II
Located in London, GB
'Mother and Child II', watercolour on fine art paper (1970), by Raymond Debiève. In a clear nod to Picasso's influence both stylistically and in terms of subject matter (Picasso pain...
Category
1970s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Motherhood - Original Pencil Drawing - 1976
Located in Roma, IT
Motherhood is a contemporary artwork in pencil realized by Gian Paolo Berto during the 1970s.
hand-signed and dated on the lower left.
Dimensions: 51 x 46cm
In very good conditio...
Category
1970s Contemporary Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
OriginalSet-the Way of Seeing-Meeting Raphael-studies of Masters-British Artist
Located in London, GB
Free shipping worldwide ! This set of drawings included Two Studies of Raphael's paintings in National Gallery, London where Shizico Yi learned her craft in drawings from old masters...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Archival Paper
My African remix Haude Bernabé Contemporary art drawing work on paper nature
Located in Paris, FR
Watercolour on paper
Unique work
Hand-signed by the artist
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Paper
The governor of time Haude Bernabé Contemporary art drawing watercolour paper
Located in Paris, FR
Watercolour on paper
Unique work
Hand-signed lower right by the artist
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Melancholy
Located in Boxholm, SE
Jolanta Johnsson, experienced Polish artist, graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, PhD of fine arts, university teacher. She currently lives in Sweden. This is how she writ...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Handmade Paper
Women Nudes - Drawing by G. Riegler. - 1932
Located in Roma, IT
Women Nudes is an Artwork realized by the Artist G. Riegler.
Drawing in ink on paper, Hand-signed and dated by the artist on the lower right corner.
Th...
Category
20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Erotic French painter - 19th century figure drawings - Nudes - Ink on paper
Located in Varmo, IT
French painter (19th century) - Four erotic scenes.
17 x 24 cm without frames, 21.5 x 28.5 cm with frames.
Antique ink drawings on paper, in wood...
Category
Late 19th Century Old Masters Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Paper
Academic study of male Nude. Two -sided. Sketches on reverce. 19th century
Located in Firenze, IT
19th century Italian school drawing. Academic study of the figure of the young naked man.
Drawing made from two sides of the sheet of paper
On the other side two feet and an arm are ...
Category
19th Century Academic Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Chalk, Crayon, Pencil, Carbon Pencil
Awakening in Mongolia by Guy Oberson - Work on paper, mother and child, chalk
By Guy Oberson
Located in Paris, FR
Awakening in Mongolia is a unique black chalk on paper painting by contemporary artist Guy Oberson, dimensions are 80 × 120 cm (31.5 × 47.2 in).
The artwork is signed, sold unframed...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Chalk
Artist's Self-Portrait in Pastel on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Artist's Self-Portrait in Pastel on Paper
Bright yellow and ochre make up this self-portrait in chalk pastels by Michael William Eggleston (American, 20th Century).
Unsigned, but acquired with a collection of the artist's work.
Mat size: 30"H x 24"W
Paper size: 24"H x 18"W
Presented in a new soft peachy cream mat with foam core backing.
Michael William Eggleston (American, 20th Century) is a San Francisco...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Impressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, Paper
Muscular Man Pencil Drawing by Bernard Sleigh RBSA (circa 1900-1920)
Located in London, GB
Muscular Man pencil drawing on wove paper (circa 1900-1920), by Bernard Sleigh, RBSA (Provenance: from the artist's studio). An exquisite drawing which is possibly a study for a larg...
Category
Early 20th Century Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper
"Historia" (FRAMED) Painting 38" x 32" inch by Antonio Pelayo
Located in Culver City, CA
"Historia" (FRAMED) Painting 38" x 32" inch by Antonio Pelayo
Medium: Acrylic Ink & Paint on Animation
Artist Antonio Pelayo, born in Glendale, Califo...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Acrylic
Attributed To Isidore Pils (1813-1875) Portrait Of Young Man, Watercolor
Located in Paris, FR
Attributed to Isidore Pils (1813-1875)
Portrait of young man
Watercolor on paper, mounted on cardboard
26.5 x 21 cm
In a modern frame : 42 x 36 cm
In quite good condition, a little b...
Category
1860s Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Industrial Working Man WPA Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern American Scene
By Jo Cain
Located in New York, NY
Industrial Working Man WPA Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern American Scene
Jo Cain (1904 - 2003)
Man with a Tool
39 ¾ x 38 ¼ inches
Gouache...
Category
1930s American Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Rodolphe by Guy Oberson - Contemporary figurative painting, portrait, man
By Guy Oberson
Located in Paris, FR
Rodolphe is a unique black chalk on paper painting by contemporary artist Guy Oberson, dimensions are 140 × 120 cm (55.1 × 47.2 in). Dimensions of the framed artwork are 145 x 125 cm...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Chalk
Zygmunt Menkes, Dancers, ink on paper 23 x 22.5 cm
Located in Jerusalem, IL
Zygmunt Menkes (1896-1986)
Dancers
ink on paper
23 x 22.5 cm
signed lower right
Category
Mid-20th Century Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Paper
'Portrait of a Young Man' — 1960s American Impressionism
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Robert Philipp, 'Portrait of a Young Man', color pastel and wet brush, c. 1967. Signed in pencil, lower right. A fine, painterly drawing, on cream laid Michallet drawing paper. The artist's tack holes in the four sheet corners, in very good condition. Image size 19 x 11 1/2 inches (483 x 292 mm); sheet size 19 x 12 3/8 inches (483 x 314 mm). Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed.
Provenance: Art Students League, from the artist’s personal portfolio.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Robert Philipp (1895–1981) was a celebrated American Post-Impressionist painter known for his nudes, still lifes, and portraits. Noted art critic Henry McBride named Philipp one of America's top six painters of his generation. Philipp was an instructor of painting at the Art Students League, New York, for 33 years. Philipp was Secretary of the National Academy of Design, a National Academician, and a Benjamin Franklin Fellow at the Royal Society of Arts in London. His composition and painting style has been compared to the art of Edgar Degas and Pierre Auguste Renoir.
In 1940, Philipp was invited to Los Angeles by Hollywood producer Louis B. Mayer to paint portraits of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie stars. The same year, Walter Wanger, producer of ‘The Long Voyage Home’, directed by John Ford and based on plays by Eugene O'Neill, contracted with Reeves Lewenthal, head of the Associated American Artists gallery in Manhattan, to bring nine well-known artists to the set and paint scenes from the movie and portraits of the actors in character. The artists included Robert Philipp, Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, Ernest Fiene, George Schreiber, Luis...
Category
1940s American Impressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel
Early 20th century English portrait of a young girl, Deborah Blencowe
Located in Woodbury, CT
Louise H. "Louie" Burrell (née Luker 1873 – 1971) was an English-born artist who also lived in Canada and the United States.
The daughter of William and Ada Luker, both artists, Bur...
Category
1920s Victorian Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Paper
19th century English chalk drawing on paper of a Lions head
Located in Woodbury, CT
William Huggins was born in Liverpool, England on the 13th of May, 1820. His parents were Samuel and Elisabeth Huggins. He took his first drawing lessons from the Liverpool Mechanics...
Category
1840s Victorian Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, Paper
Winter landscape - Drawing by Emilio Longoni - 1920s
Located in Roma, IT
Mixed media artwork (tempera, watercolor and pencil) on cardboard by Emilio Longoni.
Hand signed by the artist on the lower right margin.
Includes gilded frame.
Category
1920s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Tempera, Pencil
Portrait of a Young Handsome Man (Army GI)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Beautiful WWII era portrait of a young man by Louis Krupp (1888-1978). Charcoal on paper measures 16.5 x 22.5 inches, 25 X 30 IN MATTING. Signed and dated...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Charcoal
'The Market Seller in Nice' French Vintage Gouache Painting
Located in London, GB
'The Market Seller in Nice', gouache on paper, by Alfred Salvignol (circa 1950s). The role of women as support to their families has been both very important and highly undervalued b...
Category
1950s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Madonna and Child - Colored Chalk Drawing - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Madonna and Child is a beautiful colored chalk low relief realized in the 19th Century by Anonymous Artist.
Frame included: 96x70 cm.
Good condition except some minor cracks and lo...
Category
19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk, Paper
The Family
Located in London, GB
'The Family', gouache on fine art paper (1984), by Raymond Dèbieve. In a clear nod to Picasso's influence both stylistically and in terms of subject matter ...
Category
1980s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache, Paper
Warrior in Raw Umber_America Martin_Ink_Figurative/Native American Portrait
Located in 326 N Coast Hwy. | Laguna Beach, CA
America Martin
"Warrior in Raw Umber"
Custom Made Paper & Ink
39” x 39” Framed
AMERICA MARTIN is an internationally represented Colombian-American fine art...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Handmade Paper, Ink
Man sitting in the studio - Thinking about art -
Located in Berlin, DE
Adolph Eduard Otto von Faber du Faur (1828 Ludwigsburg - 1901 Munich). Man sitting in the studio. Watercolour painting, 43 x 27 cm (visible size), 73 x 53 cm (frame), monogrammed at lower right, estate stamp.
Upper right corner neatly repaired, small tear in the wall to the left of the sitter.
- Thinking about art -
About the artwork
The sitter, an elderly man, is seated in a studio on a pedestal reminiscent of an academy hall. The earthy, dark tones give the scene a weighty quality. The lightest tones are found in the incarnate parts of the figure, which do not stand out from the other colours of the picture, but are linked to them. As a result, the sitter's face is both part of and the highlight of the colour references in the picture. The colour of the sitter's skin is reflected in his pink coat, while his white-grey hair matches the colour of the wall next to him. This almost monochrome wall surface, in turn, is connected across the portrait to the framed picture standing on the floor, which seems to have been erased by this correspondence with the empty wall surface. Through the palette, which is positioned directly behind the sitter's head, the reference to painting, which is already given by the studio space, is explicitly linked to the sitter, who thus seems to be contemplating the question of the meaning of art.
This raises the question of whether Faber Du Faur, who had become lonely in his old age, might have painted a self-portrait here in his later years. In addition to the studio setting, the sitter's explicit reference to the palette and the fact that the picture was part of his estate, the only summary elaboration of the body suggests a self-portrait, while the representation of the face is concretised with the wide-open eyes typical of a self-portrait. This concentration on the face gives the impression of the artist's melancholy introspection, captured by the palette and related to the meaning of painting, whose dark character is reinforced by the concealment of the palette hanging on the right of the picture in the light tones so characteristic of Faber Du Faur. In the course of this resignation, Faber du Faur advises his son Hans, who has also become a painter: "Promise me one thing: never move to Munich, they'll kill you here!"
Whoever the sitter may be, the references to painting make the portrait a resigned self-contemplation by Faber Du Faur, focused on art.
About the artist
After leaving school, Otto Faber du Faur entered the service of the Württemberg army, at the same time cultivating his artistic talent. In 1851, on the recommendation of his father Christian Wilhelm, who was himself a battle painter, he spent six months in Munich as an apprentice to Alexander von Kotzebue. In 1852 he was granted a year's leave of absence from military service to study battle painting in the studio of Adolphe Yvon...
Category
1890s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
"Young Girl (Jenue Fille)" Louis Valtat, French Drawing
By Louis Valtat
Located in New York, NY
Louis Valtat
Young Girl
Stamped with initials lower right
Pencil on brown paper
Sight 7 x 6 inches
Provenance:
Mrs. Ernest M. Werner, New York
Private Collection, Rhode Island
Loui...
Category
Early 20th Century Fauvist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Portrait - Original Black Marker Pen Drawing - 1929
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait is an original Pen Drawing realized by an unknown artist in 1929.
Good condition on a yellowed paper, another sketch of a nude woman on the...
Category
1920s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Permanent Marker
Sailors in Marseille
Located in London, GB
'Sailors in Marseille', gouache on art paper, French School (circa 1960s). Ever since the 6th century, there have been fishermen selling their catch in the Old Port of Marseille while sailors from visiting vessels have always enjoyed a night on the town. Today the Old Port is the city’s beating heart, a vital part of Marseille. In this work, the artist depicts a solo French sailor crossing paths with his American counterpart. The Frenchman sports his cap with iconic pom pom rouge while the American sailor is dressed in his white 'Cracker Jack...
Category
1960s Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Untitled (Guardian Angel, Gabriel)
By Ian Hornak
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002)
Title: Untitled (Guardian Angel, Gabriel)
Year: 1973
Medium: Ink on heavy archival paper
Size: 22 x 30 inches
Condition: Good
Provenance: Estate of Ian...
Category
1970s Surrealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Giuseppe Migneco(Italian painter) - 20th century figure drawing - Fortune teller
Located in Varmo, IT
Giuseppe Migneco (Messina 1903 - Milan 1997) - The fortune teller.
49.5 x 39.5 cm without frame, 52.5 x 40.5 cm with frame.
Antique mixed technique drawing on paper, in wooden fram...
Category
Mid-20th Century Post-War Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Mixed Media, Paper
Mid-Century Portrait of an Elegant Woman (unfinished)
Located in Soquel, CA
Portrait of an elegant woman by Joseph Yeager (American, 20th Century). This piece is unsigned, but was acquired with a collection of Yeager work directly from the estate. This piece...
Category
1960s American Impressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Pencil
Man with Telephone - Surrealist Black and White Portrait in Ink on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Man with Telephone - Surrealist Black and White Portrait in Ink on Paper
Surrealist composition by an unknown artist (20th Century). A man dressed in a su...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
India Ink, Pen, Pencil, Paper
Landscape - Painting by Alberto Gillani - 1981
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is an artwork realized by Alberto Gillani, in 1981.
Oil on Canvas.
49 x 69 cm; 79 x 89 cm with frame.
Handsigned in the lower margin.
Very good conditions
Category
1950s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil
La Voix Humaine
By Jean Cocteau
Located in CANNES, FR
" Femme de profil au téléphone " .pen , India ink and wash paper . signed Jean and dated .
executed in 1930 . original drawing certified by Madame Annie Guedras .
Category
1930s Art Deco Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
India Ink
André Favory (1889-1937) Portrait of the poet Jacques Portail, 1923, red chalk
By André Favory
Located in Paris, FR
André Favory (1889-1937)
Portrait of the poet Jacques Portail, 1923
red chalk on paper
33 x 25 cm
Signed and dated on the lower right
Titled on the rever...
Category
1920s Art Deco Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
Pair of 19th century English chalk drawing on paper of Cockerel
Located in Woodbury, CT
William Huggins was born in Liverpool, England on the 13th of May, 1820. His parents were Samuel and Elisabeth Huggins. He took his first drawing lessons from the Liverpool Mechanics...
Category
1870s Victorian Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pastel
Portrait of a Woman - Drawing by Roland Cruypelants - 1920s
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of a Woman is an Artwork realized by the Artist Roland Cruypelants (1882-1947).
Drawing pencil on paper, Hand-signed by the artist on the lower right corner.
The artwork...
Category
20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
Turn of the 20th Century Portrait of Two Brothers
Located in Soquel, CA
Rare turn of the century portrait of J.O. and T.O. Mason, from a daguerreotype photograph, c.1860, by Marion Kavanaugh Wachtel (American, 1876-1954). Portrait c.1900. Signed "Marion...
Category
Early 1900s American Impressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Portrait of Men - Original - Late 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of Men is an Artwork realized by the French Artist Gaston Charles Vuillier.
Drawing-ink on paper.
The artist wants to define a well-balanced composition, through precis...
Category
Late 19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache
Woman - Original Pencil Drawing by Raymond Balze - Mid 19th century
Located in Roma, IT
Woman is an Original Pencil Drawing realized by Raymond Balze (1818-1909).
Good Condition on a yellowed paper included a white cardboard passpartout (67x51 cm).
No signature.
Raym...
Category
Mid-19th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
At the bar att. to Alexandre Blanchet - Drawing 23x29 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Watercolor on cardboard without frame
Category
Early 20th Century French School Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Carbon Pencil
Scripture Tapestry, collage with woman and Biblical quotes
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Paper paint charcoal collage fabric
These collages were created first in the presence of a live model, working quickly, in charcoal and pastel, and again, later, alone in the studio...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Fabric, Charcoal, Archival Paper, Magazine Paper
Sketch of a head - Carved in stone -
Located in Berlin, DE
Emil Faesch (1865 Basel - 1915 Basel). Sketch of a head. Charcoal on painting cardboard, 60 x 47.5 cm (folio size), signed and dated at lower right "E. Faesch. 1888.".
Minor browning.
- Carved in stone -
About the artwork
The life-size head has an immensely present presence. This effect is due to the fact that Faesch took his cue from academic classical...
Category
1880s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
19th C. Newspaper Illustration of Hiram H. Hobbs, Foreman of the Grand Jury 1898
Located in Soquel, CA
Historical late 19th century portrait of Hiram H. Hobbs, Foreman of the Grand Jury of San Francisco y Richard Langtry Partington (American, ...
Category
1890s American Impressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Illustration Board, India Ink
Portrait of Boy in a Chair
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of Boy in a Chair', gouache on art paper, by Raymond Debiève (circa 1960s). Here the artist paints a young boy, very probably his son, Vincent, sitting in a chair posing fo...
Category
1960s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Two Nudes Posing
Located in London, GB
'Two Nudes Posing', pencil on fine art paper, by French artist, Guillaume Dulac (circa 1920s). An artist known for his exquisite drawings - many are sketch...
Category
1920s Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
The Seated Nude
Located in London, GB
'The Seated Nude', pencil on fine art paper, by French artist, Guillaume Dulac (circa 1920s). An artist known for his exquisite drawings - many are sketches for his larger oil painti...
Category
1920s Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Mid Century Seated Nude Figure, Female Figure Study Watercolor
Located in Soquel, CA
Graceful depiction of seated nude female figure by Joseph Yeager (American, 20th Century). Unsigned, but was acquired with a collection of Joseph Yeager works directly from the estate. This piece is on heavy bond paper with ragged edges. No frame.
Joseph "Joe" Yeager (American, 20th Century) was raised in Cleveland Ohio, where he went to art school at night and started his art career at 19. He was a commercial artist for the Cleveland Press...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper, Watercolor
Portrait of Reclining Nude
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of Reclining Nude', pencil on paper, by French artist, Guillaume Dulac (circa 1920s). An artist known for his exquisite drawings - many are sketches for his larger oil pain...
Category
1920s Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Half-length portrait of a Pharisee - In the shadow of betrayal -
Located in Berlin, DE
Hermann Prell (1854 Leipzig - 1922 Dresden-Loschwitz). Half-length portrait of a Pharisee, 1885. Sketch for the right-hand figure in the painting Judas Iscariot, 1886. Pencil drawing heightened with opaque white and black chalk on beige-grey wove paper (papier vélin), 34 x 27.8 cm (visible size), 52 x 45 cm (mount), signed, dated and inscribed "H. PRELL 1885 zu 'Judas'".
Minor browning, collection stamp on the reverse.
- In the shadow of betrayal -
About the artwork
This painting is the sketch for the head of the Pharisee offering the coins to Judas in one of Herrmann Prell's major works, the painting Betrayal of Judas, completed in 1886. The painting belongs to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and is illustrated in Adolf Rosenberg: Prell, Bielefeld and Leipzig 1901, p. 21 (Fig. 19). It is especially highlighted in Thieme-Becker (vol. 27, p. 376).
Hermann Prell, Betrayal of Judas, 1886
The monumental head, which fills the picture and is distinguished by its ornamented robe, is almost a lost profile, which in the executed painting is justified by the Pharisee's turning towards Judas. Despite the fact that the sitter withdraws from the viewer by turning away, it was necessary to artistically elaborate the motivation for the purchase of one of Christ's disciples, which is why the drawing focuses on the expression of the face, while the 'accessories' are treated in a more summary manner.
In characterising the face, Hermann Prell performs a balancing act: since the Pharisee, despite his destructive actions, is an actor in the history of salvation, the head must show a dignity appropriate to the event, but at the same time the physiognomy must also bear witness to the scheming attitude that led to the betrayal. To solve this dilemma, Prell draws on the traditional depictions of the heads of the apostles, shading the face to indicate the obdurate darkness of the spirit and moving the base of the nose slightly upwards while the mouth falls away, thus giving a physiognomic expression to the motivation of the action. The fatal drama of the betrayal is expressed in the monumentalisation of the head and in the thunderous white highlights that contrast with the darkness of the chalk.
As a study, considered by the artist to be a work in itself, this drawing reveals the pictorial problems and brainstorming of monumental painting.
About the artist
In 1872 Prell, who was one of the most important exponents of monumental painting of his time, began studying painting with Theodor Grosse at the Dresden Academy of Art and continued with Carl Gussow at the Berlin Academy in 1876. Hans von Marées taught him in Rome in 1878. More influential on his work, however, were Arnold Böcklin and Max Klinger, with whom Prell had been friends since his student days and with whom he worked together on several occasions.
Prell's first major work, which established his reputation as a monumental painter, were the frescoes in the banqueting hall of the Architektenhaus in Berlin in 1881/82, commissioned by the state and depicting the different periods of architecture. Prell then went to Italy for two years to study fresco painting. Other major commissions followed. These included monumental frescoes in the town halls of Worms (1884), Hildesheim (1882-92), Gdansk (1895) and Dresden, the staircase of the Silesian Museum of Fine Arts in Breslau (1893/94), the throne room of the German Embassy in Rome (1896-99) and the staircase of the Albertinum in Dresden (1900-1904).
From 1886 Prell taught at the academy of arts in Berlin and in 1892 he was appointed professor at the academy of arts in Dresden. His students included Osmar Schindler and Hans Unger...
Category
1880s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
Drawing of Putti in the Clouds by Jean-Jacques le Barbier l'Ainé (1738-1826)
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Drawing of Putti in the Clouds
Jean-Jacques le Barbier l'Ainé (France, 1738-1826)
Black pencil on paper
Signed and dated lower left "Le Barbier L'ainé 1816"
10 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches ...
Category
1810s Academic Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper
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Large Danish Oil Painting
One Handed Clock
Retro Map Of Paris
Retro Psychedelic Posters
The Rolling Stones Poster
Vintage Air Force Planes
Bronze Sculpture Baby
Familiar Garden Flowers
John The Baptist Painting
Paul W Wood Painting
Swedish Art V
Used Merchandise Displays
Vintage Traffic Sign
Vintage Traffic Signs
Young Gay
Antique French Still Life Oil Painting
Bronze Dancing Girls