JAN DE BISSCHOP (Amsterdam 1628-1671 The Hague)

While Jan de Bisschop made numerous drawings of Italian towns, landscapes and monuments, there is no evidence that he actually travelled to Italy (see R.E. Jellema and M. Plomp, Episcopius. Jan de Bisschop (1628-1671), lawyer and draughtsman, exhib. cat., Amsterdam, Museum het Rembrandthuis, 1992-1993, p. 22). It is more likely that he drew inspiration from prints and drawings by fellow artists for his Italian views. A drawing which seems to confirm this is a sheet by De Bisschop showing The Forum of Augustus, now in the Hamburger Kunsthalle, which is a copy after a drawing by Bartholomeus Breenbergh (1598-1657) now in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (ibid., figs. 11 and 12). The present sheet is executed in De Bisschop's characteristic style and the curvy penwork combined with rather loosely applied wash can be seen, for example, in View of a village in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. 1972.118.3) and a drawing showing A view of the Haagse Bos previously in the I.Q. van Regteren Altena collection, Christie's, Amsterdam, 13 May 2015, lot 259. Another drawing given to De Bisschop that shows a landscape near Tivoli was sold at Christie's, Paris, 21 March 2002, lot 113.