Michel van Overbeek

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Michel van Overbeek
active ca. 1650-1680
View of Rome
Pen and brown ink with brown wash on paper.
4 1/16 x 8 inches (104 x 204 mm)
The Joseph F. McCrindle Collection.
2009.232
Inscription: 

Inscribed in pen and brown ink at upper center : "Parte de Roma"

Provenance: 
Sir Thomas Lawrence; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., Ltd., London; from which acquired by Joseph F. McCrindle, New York, June 1970 (McCrindle collection no. A1430).
Summary: 

Little is known about the obscure artist Michel van Overbeek, who was active from roughly 1650 to 1680. The inscription on the present sheet is consistent with the text that Overbeek inserted atop his other drawings of townscapes, for example View of Town now in the British Museum (1929-5-11-22). Like Van Overbeek's drawing of Westminster, also in the British Museum (Crowle Pennant, vol. III, no. 245), View of Rome shows a meticulously rendered image of the city in the middle and background, whereas the forefront of the sheet presents a more rustic counterpoint to the inhabited area.

Associated names: 

Lawrence, Thomas, Sir, 1769-1830.
McCrindle, Joseph F., former owner.

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