18th Century Head Of A Gentleman's Study And Head Of A Lady's Study By Michael Dahl 1659-1743

Beautiful 18th century portrait in the head of a gentleman by Michael Dahl (1659-1743) Charcoal and white chalk heightened on gray paper. Born in Sweden in 1659, Michael Dahl first traveled to England in 1682 to assess the patronage opportunities created by the death of Sir Peter Lely. After several years of traveling in France and Italy, he finally settled in London in 1689 where he worked in the studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller and developed a style of portraiture influenced by his master. In fact, Dahl quickly became Kneller's main rival and won the patronage of Prince George of Denmark and his wife Princess Anne. His studio practice exploded and he seems to have become the favorite portrait painter in London at the time. Dahl seems to have adopted from Kneller the practice of making head studies in order to fix a sitter's likeness for their final portrait, and the two artists produced these chalk drawings on blue or gray paper. Until 1973, no drawings were firmly attributed to Dahl, but an article in "Master Drawings" by J. Douglas Stewart claimed that some sketches previously thought to be by Kneller were in fact part of a larger group broad that he attributed to Dahl himself. This allowed a body of work to emerge and allowed a number of other similar studies to be attributed to Dahl, including the soft-toned drawings of a gentleman and lady shown here. Kneller's designs have more dramatic contrasts of light and shadow, the execution is often more schematic, and there is a bolder line with a tendency towards long baroque curves in the definition of the model's hair. Dahl's drawing is more subdued and carefully executed and the modeling of the two works seen here is done with short hatching strokes and areas of softer, denser shading with white chalk highlights and characterization, the distinguish drawings by Sir Godfrey Kneller. Stewart captures the essential quality of Dahl's drawings: “It is interesting to note how similar Dahl's drawing style is to that of his paintings, e.g. the powdery tone and the modeling in short strokes." (1) It has also been noted that Dahl generally "shaded the edges of the mouths, added strong highlights to the noses, and paid attention to the structure of the nostrils" (2.) all elements found in the present work This study of a male head compares to drawings such as Dahl's study of Christopher Lethieullier, (Black and white chalk on blue paper, 430 x 324 mm, Courtauld Gallery, London) preparatory to the portrait of Uppark. The portrait of a woman is more soberly drawn, but it is clear that this is again a head study by Dahl. It compares well with the manipulation and in particular features the treatment of the eyes in Dahl's drawing of a gentleman, (Black and white chalk on blue laid paper, 330 x 240mm, Lowell Libson and Jonny Yarker Ltd.) In fact, this portrait resembles many, many Dahl's Babysitters.His portrait titled Sarah Duchess of Marlbrough is typical, with the same head angle th t the cool, hooded look that Dahl employs. Despite the fact that such drawings were an important part of Dahl's working process, few survive and they remain rare compared to the volume of his painted portraits. Finely executed with a delicate touch of white chalk to highlight the essential shape of their faces, these engaging sketches are interesting additions to Dahl's known works on paper. MICHAEL DAHL 1659–1743 Portrait of a Gentleman Charcoal and white chalk on gray paper 13.75 × 9.74 in 330 × 240 mm Drawn c. 1725–35 MICHAEL DAHL 1659-1743 Portrait of a Lady Charcoal and white chalk on blue paper Price: €17250 (pair) Very grateful to David H Solkin. FBA, Malcolm A. Rogers CBE and James Innes - Mulraine for their invaluable assistance in cataloging these drawings. 1. J. Douglas Stewart, Sir Godfrey Kneller, Exhibition Catalogue, National Portrait Gallery, London, 1971, p.44 2. Metropolitan Museum NYC commentary on accession number: 2021.375.1 Fig. 1 Michael Dahl / Head study by Christopher Lethieullier (Black and white chalk on blue paper, 430 x 324 mm, Courtauld Gallery London) Fig. 2 Michael Dahl / Portrait of a Gentleman (Black and white chalk on blue paper, 330x 240mm formerly with Lowell Gibson and Jonny Parker Ltd.) Fig. 3 Michael Dahl/ Portrait Head of a Man / Mr Reed? (Black and white chalk, on blue paper 385 x 280 mm at the Morgan Library.)