Jabach skimmed the artmarket in France, Germany, Italy and England for new pieces. He even purchased part of the collection of Charles I. Among the many highlights was Leonardo’s Head of St. John the Baptist. The German banker had a strong interest in drawings and his collection gradually became larger and larger, finally reaching a peak. Then suddenly in 1670, things changed. The world of finance is whimsical and Jabach was forced to renounce his precious collection to king Louis XIV. His financial problems had clearly risen above his head, the exact reason for the collapse still remains uncertain.
The result; 5.500 drawings were no longer his anymore. They would form the basis of the cabinet du roi, now part of the Louvre. Jabach had made a peculiar distinction in his collection. One part was called dessins d’ordonance. The drawings from this group were all mounted and considered to be the best. The other part was called rebut de ma collection, literally ‘scum of my collection’.
These were understandably not mounted and were not inventoried by Jabach himself. But among these 2.900 drawings there were some absolute marvels, for example Michelangelo’s drawing The Resurrection of Christ. It is hard to understand why Jabach labeled this drawing as unimportant, but it is easy for us to judge him with the benefit of hindsight. Jabach started collecting again after 1671 and he did so until his death 1695. During these years Jabach again acquired some wonderful artpieces.
In 1974 Rosaline Bacou and Françoise Viatte wrote the catalogue Italian Renaissance Drawings from the Louvre in Paris, for the exhibition in the Metropolitan in New York. A fair share of the drawings discussed here were once Jabach’s property. All in all Jabach is a fascinating figure in the history of collecting drawings. See Jabach’s various collectors marks at les marques des collections
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wouldlike to know about drawings exhibitions