Jan Grasdorp (Zwolle 1642-1686)

Jan Grasdorp was a member of a family from Zwolle which produced many artists, like his great uncle Engbert (circa 1610-1685) (for an example of Engbert's draughtsmanship see Two peasants near the gateway to a farmyard from the I.Q. van Regteren Altena Sale, Part II, Christie's, Amsterdam, 10 December 2014, lot 209). According to the inscription this lively market scene shows 'G. Grasdorp' fighting with a fishwife. This could refer to the artist Gerrit Grasdorp (1659-1716) who possibly was Jan's brother. The work of both Jan and Gerrit show the influence of the Ter Borch family who were also active in Zwolle. The present drawing is, for example, stylistically close to the Marketplace with a crier by Gerard ter Borch II (1617-1681) in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. A 824; A. McNeil Kettering, Drawings from the ter Borch Studio Estate, The Hague, 1988, I, no. 39).