John Baldessari, original drawing ‘Ingres and other Parables’, 1971

Doubled sided pen drawing on thin off-white paper, 16.5 x 31 cm. Consists of two sheets attached on rear with cloth tape. Recto features a sketch for the title sheet of Baldessari’s artists’ book ‘Ingres and Other Parables’. Verso shows a sketch for the first page of the book with the header ‘Ingres’, a text block, and a drawing of a nail. (In the published book this nail is reproduced in photographic format). Unique document from a private collection in Amsterdam, previously owned by the Egidio Marzona Collection, Bielefeld. In fine condition, with light fading of the ink.

The artist’s publication ‘Ingres and other Parables’ is composed of humorous notes on the art world and its menace. The title story ‘Ingres’ portrays a painting’s physical decay as it passes from one owner to another. Though eventually just a single nail is left of the painting, its financial worth only increases, due to ‘a clear lineage, a good genealogy’.