École

1650 · Best.-Nr. 2105 — Dutch mid-17th century drawing possibly by Rembrandt pupil Willem Drost. Depicted is Diogenes in robes with his lantern in his left hand and a staff in his right and a group of four figures. Diogenes the Cynic 4th cent. BC renounced material possessions and lived in poverty. He would go out with a lighted lantern in broad daylight to look for an honest man instead he would only find that everyone around him was morally corrupted. He would scare passersby with his lantern causing them to lose their mask and reveal their true intentions.In the present drawing the group of four is clearly scared by the lantern of Diogenes who seems to be towering over them. In fact the artist has placed Diogenes on a higher plane than the passersby an invention that effectively enhances the morality of the scene. This is not found in other contemporary depictions of the same story by artists like Rubens Sandrart Castiglione and Jordaens.The artistdisplays a masterful understanding and application of chiaroscuro. Not only does he use it for the composition he also applies it to benefit the narrative. Light is literally and figuratively at the center of the scene. The artist from the "Rembrandt school" who made most use of stark chiaroscuro in his drawings was Willem Drost 1633-1659. He became a student of Rembrandt around 1650 which corresponds with the dating of the watermark. The style of drawing is also close to drawings attributed to Drost. The facial type of Diogenes in particular the pointy nose corresponds with that found in each of Drost's drawings in the Rijksmuseum. Also the hatchingsmatch those in other works by Drost who made much use of individual lines instead of a continuous zig-zagging stroke and penstrokes of varying thickness to create depth in his compositions Bonny van Sighem 2000.Condition: Number 3 in pencil at the bottom previous attribution to Ferdinand Bol written in pencil on the back. Several small brown spots and a couple minor defects including one on the face of the central figure in the group top edge slightly frayed and creaded. Old repair with tape on the back at the top.Literature: B. van Sighem 'attributed to Willem Drost David Prevents Abishai from Killing Saul Amsterdam c. 1650 - c. 1655' in J. Turner ed. Drawings by Rembrandt and his School in the Rijksmuseum online coll. cat. Amsterdam 2000 Bonny van Sighem 2000; for the watermark cf. Churchill fig. 305; Heawood 305 & 307.