bears inscription '4 S' and later inscription 'Maratta' (verso)pen & brown ink, brown wash, white bodycolour on paper Unframed: 25.4 x 20 cm. (10 x 7 7/8 in.)Notes:An early replica of Frederick Bloemaert’s engraving and chiaroscuro woodcut based on a drawing of the early 1620s by his father, Abraham (Dordrecht 1564-Utrecht 1651). The print was published in the mid-1650s in Het Tekenboek (plate number 75 of 173), an artist’s model book with engravings by Frederick after his father’s designs. While the published print is numbered ‘75’, this drawing is closest in scale, tone and handling to an unnumbered proof in the Rijksmuseum (no. RP-P-BI-1203), which measures 21.2 x 16.9 cm. This suggests that the draughtsman had access to the production of the Tekenboek prints in its early stages. The handling of ink, wash and bodycolour vividly replicate the impression of radiant figures emerging from a densely hatched background. The draughtsman skilfully mirrored Frederick’s use of tone blocks in beige and brown to sharpen the sculptural definition of forms. However, the warmer tonalities of the drawing render the composition more atmospheric, as though the figures are glowing in the light of an open fire.