Madonna and child in a cartouche.

Pen and brown ink, red chalk, brown wash, heigthened with white, 18,6 x 15,2 cm, laid paper (some min. stains).

Under passe-partout.

Design of a decorative Baroque cartouche with strapwork ornament around a seated Madonna with Christ. With handwritten text in lower cartouche "Miroir Sans Tache Originelle". Attributed on the passe-partout to Theodoor van Thulden (1606-1669). Given the style of the cartouche and manner of rendering, an earlier attribution on the verso to Erasmus Quellinus (1607-1678) seems more likely. The name "Quelinus" is written by a 17th-c. hand in pen on the verso. Different elements such as the two flanking cherubs appear in other works by the Antwerp artist. In addition, Quellinus was known for his religious paintings of the Madonna in a cartouche, adorned with sumptuous flower garlands.
Prov. Hans Van Leeuwen (1911-2020), conductor of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw (stamp, L. 2799a). - Christie's sale 13/11/1995, n. 30.