12 - Dirck VELLERT (Antwerp, 1480–1547)

Dirck VELLERT (Antwerp, 1480–1547) Christ and the Ten Lepers Pen and brown and black ink, gray wash, and later highlights in gray gouache 28.5 cm in diameter Monogrammed at the bottom center “D.V,” in pen and black ink overpainted with gray gouache Inscriptions at the top center: “1735 de Volterra/1523 nove 26” Skinning, doubled drawing, small restored losses along the edges Provenance: Former Cardin Collection “JJS” stamp on the reverse of the drawing, at the bottom center Related bibliography: E. Konowitz, “A Creation of Eve by Dirk Vellert,” in Master Drawings 1997, vol. 35 Dirck Vellert, based in Antwerp, was a highly renowned draftsman in the early 16th century. He specialized in stained-glass designs and made his mark throughout Europe, as evidenced by the stained-glass windows at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge (see E. Konowitz, “A Creation of Eve by Dirk Vellert,” in *Master Drawings* 1997, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 54–63).) Most of Vellert’s surviving drawings are studies for stained-glass windows executed by master glassmakers for both religious and domestic settings. Our drawing is part of a series of New Testament subjects, some of which are held at the British Museum, such as *The Wedding at Cana*. (inv. 1923, 0113.4). These drawings, dated 1523, are part of a series that may correspond to the biblical series from the collection of Samuel Van Huls, which was dispersed in The Hague in 1736. Lot 5 comprised fourteen sheets on the “Life of Jesus Christ in an Oval,” and Lot 6 comprised “four drawings from the history of the Bible.” We thank Professor Ellen Konowitz for kindly confirming the authenticity of this drawing based on a photograph. She will include and reproduce the drawing in an article to be published in 2027: “Dirck Vellert’s 1523 drawings for painted-glass roundels and the versatility of Renaissance typology,” forthcoming in the 2027 volume of the Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek/Netherlands Yearbook for the History of Art.