The Entombment

This drawing, from an album belonging to the Earl of Southesk, is accompanied by a description which almost certainly came from the hand of the antiquary George Vertue. This states that it was made as a study for a 'large limning' left unfinished on Isaac Oliver's death and afterwards completed and presented to Charles I by his son Peter Oliver. Since the painting completed by Peter Oliver is not identified at Windsor, this drawing remains the only record of the subject. More important than any of the ten examples already in the British Museum, this work represents a most desirable acquisition for the history of English art.