Johan Tobias Sergel

The sculptor Sergel produced only two etchings, both unrecorded in the older print literature. Apart from this print, Per Bjurström published another etching executed in 1766 with a biblical subject: Joseph sold by his brothers. Although Sergel's activity as a printmaker seems to be limited to these two prints, they are characterized by an amazingly unerring and advanced technical facility. The basis for the dating of our sheet is an impression bearing an inscription in the artist's hand "Särgell invenit et fecit 1766."

The image is inspired by the Tableaux tirés d'Homère et de Virgile published in 1757 by the Comte de Caylus and which Sergel interpreted by combining various text passages into an inspiring composition. The mourning of the comrades-at-arms, Achilles' despair on seeing his dead friend, and the preparation of the funeral pyre are here combined in one scene, conveying a remarkable pathos. The two men carrying the dead body melt with the figure of Achilles into one compact, solid group. The compositional highpoint of the print is found in Achilles' dramatic gesture – overwhelmed by grief, he covers his head with a cloth. The fluid and dynamic etching technique seems to be inspired by Italian prints of the 16th and 17th centuries, which Sergel might have known in the originals. The position of the lifeless body of Patroclos is somewhat reminiscent of Parmigianino's Entombment (Bartsch 5), but the etching was probably executed in Stockholm  the year before Sergel's journey to Italy. As a scholar with a stately stipend the artist began his trip on June 27, 1767 for Italy via Stralsund, Berlin, Dresden and Vienna to Venice. In August of the same year he reached Rome. The sight of the art treasures of the eternal city seems to have deeply touched Sergel, even paralyzed him to the extent that, as he himself reported, during the first four months of his stay he was not able to produce any art. A fine, nuanced impression with even margins. Minor handling traces, otherwise impeccable. From the collection of Giovanni Locarno, Milano (Lugt 1691).

12.000 €