(Northern Italian,16th/17th century)

After the engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi (Italian, circa 1480-1527), inscribed or signed indistinctly "Teodoro..." inscribed in verso "propert[y] of S. Francis", with collector's mark for August Grahl (L. 1199), brown ink on paper, 8-5/8 x 6-5/8 in.; parcel gilt wood frame,14-1/2 x 12-5/8 x 7/8 in.

Provenance: Professor August Grahl (1791-1868), Dresden, with Sotheby & Co., London, April 27-28, 1885, Lot 108; Swetzoff Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts, Ex-collection Mr. and Mrs. Lester Francis Avnet, New York, 1970; Christie's, January 9, 1991, Sale No. 7204, Lot No. 38; Private Collection, Greensboro, North Carolina

Note from the Avnet catalog: This composition of the Three Men Singing was engraved by Marc Antonio Raimondi in the early 16th century after a drawing done either earlier in his career or one by his master Francesco Raibolini, Il Francia. An engraving, now in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, was executed after the Raimondi around 1530 by the Master ENSR. The Avnet drawing is believed to have been based on this later engraving.

It is interesting to note the possible influence of Albrecht Durer. See: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/67016/three-men-in-conversation-albrecht-duerer

Exhibited: Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Old Master Drawings, May 1969-December 1970, (exh # 69-16)

Literature: Catalogue of the Collection of Drawings by the Old Masters Formed by the late Professor August Grahl of Dresden. Sotheby & Co., London, April 27-28, 1885, #108; 

Marian G. Ruggles, ed., Old Master Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Francis Avnet, exh. cat., American Federation of Arts, New York, 1968, No. 1 (lot accompanied by the catalog)