New York City - The annual auction of Old Master Drawings at Swann Galleries on Monday, January 29^th promises to be a lively one, including more than 200 15^th to mid 19^th century drawings from the Italian, Dutch, French, German, and English schools.  The drawings will be followed by a selection of more than 50 etchings by Rembrandt at Swann Galleries, NYC. 

The sale offers many early Italian works, notably Guercino’s Study of a Man Reading, pen and sepia ink (estimate $20,000 to $30,000); Landscape with a Villa near a Waterfall, pen and brown ink by Domenico Campagnola ($6,000 to $8,000); The Rape of Europa, pen and ink, from the School of Veronese ($1,000 to $1,500); Giacomo Bassano, Virgin and Child on a Cloud, pen and brown ink ($2,000 to $3,000); Sebastiano Ricci, The Repentant Saint Peter at the Empty Tomb of Christ, pen and brown ink ($6,000 to $9,000); and Head of a Bearded Man, red chalk, attributed to Pierto da Cortona ($1,500 to $2,500).

Dutch and Flemish highlights include Head of a Young Man, black chalk, from the studio of Rubens ($4,000 to $6,000); a Portrait of Rembrandt from the Dutch School based on the Master’s Self Portrait Leaning on a Stone Sill etching of 1639, brush, ink and wash ($6,000 to $9,000); as well as Hendrik Goltzius, A Woman Serving, in black and red chalks ($2,000 to $3,000).

Showcased works from the French School include Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Stoning of St. Stephen, black chalk with traces of white heightening ($3,000 to $5,000); Three Putti and a Dog from the circle of François Boucher, black and white chalks ($1,000 to $1,500); Hubert Robert, An Italianate Landscape with a Ruined Tower, a Fountain and a Villa, red chalk ($4,000 to $6,000); and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Landscape with a Shepherd and Cows at a Watering Hole / Landscape with Animals, a double-sided drawing in black chalk ($4,000 to $6,000).

Highlights from the German School include two pen and ink drawings after woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer, Crucifixion and The Adoration of the Magi to be sold together ($7,000 to $10,000); Abraham Rademaker, A Capriccio View of a River Valley with a Castle, in gouache ($3,000 to $5,000); and A Bishop’s Crozier, pen and ink and pencil, from the circle of Martin Schongauer, and based on his engraving of the same title circa 1480 ($12,000 to $18,000).

Rounding out the Old Master Drawings are a selection of English works, among them Thomas Rowlandson’s watercolor and pen and ink, The Village Saddlery ($6,000 to $9,000); Coastal View, a pen and ink attributed to James M. W. Turner ($3,000 to $5,000); and Portrait of a Woman in Profile to the Left, black, red and white chalks and pencil by William Hoare of Bath ($1,500 to $2,500).

Notable Rembrandt etchings form the second part of the sale and include The Large Lion Hunt, 1641 ($15,000 to $20,000); The Raising of Lazarus: the Larger Plate, circa 1632 ($10,000 to $15,000); Jan Uytenbogaert, Preacher of the Remonstrants, 1635 ($7,000 to $10,000); Sheet of Studies: Head of Saskia and Others, 1636 ($10,000 to $15,000); Diana at the Bath, 1631 ($10,000 to $15,000); and The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds, 1634 ($15,000 to $20,000).

The auction will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, January 29^th. The works of art will be on public exhibition at Swann Galleries Thursday, January 25^th from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, January 26^th, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, January 27^th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Monday, January 29^th, from 10 a.m. to noon.  An illustrated two volume catalogue, with information on bidding by mail or fax, is available for $35 from Swann Galleries, Inc., 104 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010, or online at www.swanngalleries.com