An old man, and a boy with a bird. Etching by A. Pond, ca. 1736, after G.F. Barbieri, il Guercino.

1736

1 print : etching ; image 19.6 x 24.8 cm

Ab archetypo quod inter rariora asservat, eruditis oculis officiose proponenda, peritissimus elegantiarum arbiter Tho. Sadler arm. desumptam tabellam hanc eidem dedicat Arth. Pond Guercino del. AP Translation of lettering: Arthur Pond dedicates to Thomas Sadler Esq., a most skilled judge of niceties, this little picture taken from the archetype which he keeps among rather rare items to be put forward dutifully for erudite eyes"

The collector Thomas Sadler was presumably the son of the painter Thomas Sadler: according to Horace Walpole, "His son, Mr Thomas Sadler, was deputy clerk of the Pells, and drew too. His fine collection of agates, shells, drawings &c. were sold a few years ago on his death" (Anecdotes of painting in England, vol. 3, London: printed for J. Dodsley, 1786, p. 243). Drawings from his collection were sold at auction by Langford on 16-23 February and on 4 April 1757. This Guercino drawing and an impression of the present print were sold as the property of "Thomas Sadler, Esq." on 23 February 1757, described as "An old man and a boy with a bird by Guercino, and a print from it by Mr. Pond" (Getty provenance index)

R. Weigel, Die Werke der Maler in ihren Handzeichnungen, Leipzig: R. Weigel, 1865, no. 3320, p. 281 ("Ein Mann und ein Kind mit einem Vogel")

Wellcome Collection 3015402i