Flemish School, circa 1750
Acrobats of the Commedia dell'arte performing to a Crowd
Grey wash on paper; 8 x 9 inches / 21 x 22.5 cm
 
 Executed circa 1750, this detailed drawing addresses a subject which had been popular in Italy for several decades - the Commedia dell'arte. This beloved side-show, which in Italy and France had often aroused the wrath of the authorities which it lampooned, must here have caught the eye of a northern artist in Italy.
The author of this work has obviously been influenced by earlier generations of  northern artists such a Egbert van Heemskerk and Adriaen Brouwer, and has caricatured both the players and the crowd to produce a composition packed with quirkiness and caprice.