Leonaert Bramer: reconstructing a drawing book

The Münstersches Kunst- und Auktionhaus, from Germany, sells on 26 October 2019 a 'Leonhard Bramer" Ceres drawing, estimated at 1,800 Euro.

It turns out to be one of the 80 drawings of the "Hofstede de Groot album", a book of drawings by Leonaert Bramer (1596-1674, Dutch) which was kept together until 1984, when the album was sold at Bassenge but the new owner then dismantled and sold some or all pages individually (which is a shame). The RKD lists 12 of the drawings, and some others can be found online.

This seems to be the front page or frontispice of the book, judging from the inscription (only partly given at the auction site): "Doet is mijn teckeni(?) boeck", rather poor Dutch for "This is my book of drawings".

Other drawings from the book include:

The Wedding at Cana, offered at Sotheby's in 2008 with an estimate of £3,500 to £5,000, apparently unsold; then in 2014 for sale with Foolscap (an important specialist in Old Master drawings), and from there sold to a private collector in Switzerland.

Jael and Sisera, Aeneas and Anchises, Abraham and the 3 angels, Musicians, King Midas: all from the Met museum.

Drawings found at the RKD website:

Musicians, private collection

Christ among the doctors, Saint Peter, The Garden of Gethsemane, People eating, the Annunciation, Christ and Kajafas: all at Bassenge between 2012 and 2015

Backgammon players, on the art market in Frankfurt in 1989

The Magi, private collection

There was at least one other work from the series for sale at Bassenge in 2014, but not listed on the RKD site: another depiction of musicians.

Which makes at least 16 (now 17) drawings from the original 80 which have since found their way to either museums or other auctions. To reassamble this book would be a massive undertaking (costly and slow), but buying the first page may be a good start :-)