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January 3rd 1961.

Mr. Michael Straight
Alexandria, Va.

-2-

8408 BELLANGE, Jacques (attrib. to) Cont.

dimensional quality is rendered almost entirely through the masterful drawing as the color is confined to a low-keyed complement to the fundamental draughtsmanship.

The artist

The artist of "The Beggar" was thus indisputably some one deeply concerned with graphic art. The former owner without reason had first attributed this painting to Breughel, but sccording to him, correspondence with Dr. Max Friedlander disposed of this attribution and in fact of any possibility that the work was of lou land origin. French art historians recently consulted now find more conclusive evidence for the attribution of "The Beggar" to Jacques de Bellange than to Jacques Callot who had also been considered. This being essentially based on the drawings we know to have been carried out by Bellange, and a consensus of opinions that it is of an earlier date than Callot.

Jacques de Bellange

is still an enigmatic figure as a painter though it is a matter of record that he carried out paintings for the Duke of Lorraine at Nancy and also worked on great decorative "ensembles" at Fontainebleau. the pamphlet already in your possession gives you further details especially in the technical characteristics of this artist and contains also reproductions of some of the drawings and prints closely related to our painting, and on which to some extent the attribution to Bellange is based.