Pen in black ink, brown wash, over graphite and partly heightened in white. Size of sheet: 35.5 x 20.2 cm.

Tobias Pock’s artistic oeuvre is comparatively small and little known. There are only today 16 drawings known (Scherp) and a few were first mentioned in Gertrud Aurenhammer (1). "All his drawings take their subject from religious history and are generally detailed sketches of an already completely established composition" (2). The detailed pen and ink drawings are washed in different shades of brown, and are partly heightened in white. "By means of increasingly fluid pen and ink outlines, differentiated washes and white heightening Pock achieved images of particular clarity of detail. There are neither sketchy elements nor traces of corrections" (3). These characteristics also apply to the present drawing. Although there is no altarpiece yet known of this subject there are several preparatory drawings for altarpieces and ours can be compared in size, format and technique with the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian in Ontario (4).

We are grateful to Dr. Astrid Scherp, Munich, for her help in this catalogue entry.

(1) G.Aurenhammer, 1958.
(2) A. Scherp, 1998, p. 260ff.
(3) A. Scherp, op.cit.
(4) Art Gallery of Ontario, 70/145. Kaufmann 1982/83, cat. 75. Scherp, 1998, p. 263.