Black and white chalk, framing lines in black ink, on blue prepared paper, 350 x 135 mm. Unsigned. Under passe-partout, hinged by upper edge (foxing at upper and lower edges, sl. frayed at bottom edge, traces of old backing paper on verso)
Four young boys playfully adorn the herm of a satyr with festoons and fruit. Skillfully executed by a confident hand, the drawing imitates the three dimensional volumes and light effects of bas-relief stucco sculpture, by the addition of white highlights. The drawing is most likely a model for a larger trompe-l'oeil painting, also indicated by the frame edges on top. The rendering of the black chalk lines and the frivolous themes remind of the style of Jacob de Wit (1695-1754), the leading decorative painter in the Netherlands in the 18th-Century, specializing in allegorical interior decorations. He was particularly renowned for his grisailles of putti that imitated stucco reliefs. The composition of our drawing recalls that of a drawing in the Rijksmuseum (RP-T-1898-A-3754)
