PSEUDO-GHERARDI (fl. 17th Century)

A STUDY OF THREE HEADS
Bears inscription u.m. 36
Pen & iron gall ink heightened with white on laid paper, laid to a support
 
 
PROVENANCE:
Michael Jaffé, C.B.E. (1923-1997), Clifton Maybank;
By whose estate sold at auction in 2024 (as Italian School 17th Century)
 
 
 
 
The present work bears all the hallmarks of the draughtsman called 'Pseudo-Gherardi', about whom next to nothing is known beyond a small group of drawings attributed to him. All of these contain the same combination of frenetic penmanship and distinctive, select brushstrokes of white-lead heightening throughout.