Ambroise Dubois (b. Antwerp 1542, d. Paris 1614)
The departure of Chariclea. Unsigned. Black chalk, drawing ink, wash and white highlights on paper. Sheet size 222×358 mm.
Around 1610 Ambroise Dubois painted a series of fifteen paintings depicting scenes from Heliodoro's Aethiopica. The paintings were commissioned for Marie de Medici's chamber at Château de Fontainebleau. A closely related drawing is at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. no. RP-T-1944–133).
Spengler's attribution to Parmigianino is understandable since Parmigianino was a major influence on The Second School of Fontainebleau to which Dubois belonged.
Exhibited: The Nivaagaard Collection, “Tegnekunst på Nivaagaard”, 1983, no. 36. Reproduced pl. 36.
Literature: For related drawings see André Chastel et al.:“L'École de Fontainebleau”, Paris, Grand Palais, 1972/1973 cat. no. 87 and 88.
Provenance: Johan Conrad Spengler (1767–1839) (Lugt 1434), his estate sale 1839, no. 224 (as Parmigianino). Here purchased by Benjamin Wolff (1790–1866) (Lugt 420). Thence by descent.
Condition report on request. Contact wolff@bruun-rasmussen.dk
Please note: The item is subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act. In the event of a hammer price of DKK 50,000 or more, including buyer’s premium, the buyer must submit a copy of a valid photo ID and proof of address in order to collect the item.
The Wolff Collection, 30 May 2018