Mountainous landscape with female hermit.

Drawing, pen and brown ink, with brown and blue wash, 16,8 x 23 cm, laid paper, signed in brown ink at lower right edge "Sadeler" (laid down on blue paper, trimmed to the image, sm. brown spots, hardly affecting the image).

Under passe-partout.

A beautiful meandering landscape, executed by a good hand. The combined use of blue and brown wash corresponds to techniques used by Raphael Sadeler and Gillis II van Coninxloo (1544-1606). See, for example, a woodland drawing attributed to Van Conixloo in the collection of the Albertina (inv. nr 8056 & 8057). The signature may allude to an engraving by Aegidius or Justus Sadeler, after a design by Paul Bril from which this drawing seems to take its overall structuring of the landcape composition (Hollstein XXI:204).
Ref. N. Büttner, Landschaften des Exils? Anmerkungen zu Gillis van Coninxloo und zur Geschichte der flämischen Waldlandschaft aus Anlaß einer Neuerscheinung, in: Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 66 (2003) no. 4, pp. 546-580. - https://rkd.nl/explore/artists/17954.
Prov. Michael Ingram (L.1405; Sotheby's sale 08/12/2005, no. 81).