Watermark: none visible through lining.
The Library's group of eight drawings attributed to Rabel and his workshop come from a larger batch of works by the artist that were on the market in 1986. These sheets, said to be from a dismembered album or albums, emerged from a West German collection and were on the Swiss art market before being acquired by dealers Niall Hobhouse and Wheelock Whitney. Drawings from this cache, which were the subject of a catalogue by Margaret McGowan, are now in the Morgan, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Marion Koogler McNay Museum, and the New York Public Library Dance Collection. In 2020, the Louvre acquired a group of seven designs for Louis XII's court ballets by Rabel and his workshop from a second tranche of drawings.
The provenance of the album and its history before being dismembered in 1986 is unknown. While it was rumored to have been in the collection of Hippolyte Destailleur (1822-1893), there is no evidence to confirm his ownership. Macgowan noted that the contents of the album were reorganized several times and the circumstances of its original assembly are unknown, although the album pages seem to date from the 1580s based on watermark evidence.
This design is for a dancer representing Africa in the "Ballet Royal du Grand bal de la Douairière de Billebahaut", first performed at the Louvre in February 1626. The airs were composed by Antoine Boesset, Paul Auget, and Francois Richard, with a libretto by Rene Bordier and various poets. The ballet featured dances by costumed performers representing cultures in America, South America, Western Asia and the Middle East, northern Europe and Scandinavia. This costume relates to the segment devoted to the peoples and costumes of Africa. While this musician carries a guitar, a musician depicted in the Louvre drawing for the scene (32637) wears a similar costume but plays a mandolin. The artist has noted that the colors have yet to be added to the design. A drawing for America's Speech is in the Marion Koogler McNay Museum (TL1990.10.1.3), and one for Europe's Speech is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (S.375-1988).
Inscribed at upper right in pen and brown ink, "recit de l'Afrique"; at lower left beneath the figure, "Il faut metre les couleurs"; numbered at upper center in graphite, "167"; at upper right corner on album leaf in pen and brown ink, "175".
Destailleur, Hippolyte Alexandre Gabriel Walter, 1822-1893, former owner.
Wrightsman, Jayne, donor.
McGowan, Margaret. The Court Ballet of Louis XIII: A Collection of Working Designs for Costumes 1615-33, 1986, no. 76.
Ryskamp, Charles, ed. Twenty-First Report to the Fellows of the Pierpont Morgan Library, 1984-1986. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1989, p. 371.