signed ‘J. Stolker del: ad Exim: Pict: Gd Schalken in poses: vir Nobilis: J: Snelle Rotterod:’ (recto) and inscribed ‘Naar ‘t orrigineel van Gd Schalken/ in ‘t Cabinet van de heer Jan Snelle te Rotterdam/ gevolgt door J: Stolker/ Hoog 12 ½. Breet 9 ½ duym’ (verso)
bodycolour and watercolour, pen and black framing lines, illegible watermark
32.4 x 24.8 cm

Provenance:
The artist’s estate; Holsteyn, Rotterdam, 27 March 1786, lot 192 (f. 30.- to P. Stolker [son of Jan Stolker]);
Pieter Stolker (1755-after 1786), Rotterdam.
Cornelis Ploos van Amstel (1726-1798), Amsterdam (L. 2034).
Joris van Glabbeek and Marlon Elfvering; Christie’s, Amsterdam, 14-16 December 2010, lot 609.

The Amsterdam born artist Jan Stolker moved to Rotterdam in 1757 where he would live and work until his death in 1785. Stolker’s artistic output consisted mainly of painted portraits, wall hangings (of which one still survives in Rotterdam) and genre pieces and drawn portraits and drawings after 17th century paintings. The present sheet, which has retained its vibrant colours, falls in the latter category. As the inscriptions on the recto and verso indicate, the drawing is after a painting by Godfried Schalcken (1643-1706) which was then part of the collection of the Rotterdam collector Jan Snellen (1711-1789). The painting appears to have been lost, but a painted studio version has survived. The present sheet demonstrates Stolker’s exceptional skill with the brush; from the details in the stone arch to the glowing sparks from the coals, each detail is rendered with the greatest precision. Given the quality of the drawing, it is perhaps unsurprising that it was once part of the collection of Cornelis Ploos van Amstel, arguably the most important drawings collector of the 18th century.