Art Institute of Chicago
Studies of a Roman Sarcophagus
Peter Paul RubensLinkedCulture matchlcp-f04bb8160cbf
- Date
- 1602/03
- Medium
- Black chalk on cream laid paper
- Culture
- Flanders
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Object ID
- 84207
From the Art Institute of Chicago record
Using chalk and a loose sheet of paper, Peter Paul Rubens depicted three figures from a sarcophagus likely seen in Roman collector Ciriaco Mattei’s garden. Rubens visited the Eternal City twice during his stay in Italy (1600–08). Chalk was more portable than ink and therefore an easier medium in which to directly record the remnants of Classical antiquity. Rubens used it to convey the contours of specific sculptural elements as well as the shadows created by their volumes. In comparing this drawing to its source, one can appreciate how selectively Rubens extracted the figures from their architectural surround.
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- The Leonora Hall Gurley Memorial Collection
- Provenance
- Dr. Christian David Ginsburg (1831–1914), Palmer’s Green, England [stamp (Lugt 1145), verso, lower left, in black]; sold, Sotheby’s, London, July 20–23, 1915, lot 34, to William F. E. Gurley (1854–1943), Chicago [stamp (Lugt 5308), recto, lower left, in black and inscription verso, lower left, in graphite]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago for the Leonora Hall Gurley Memorial Collection, 1922 [stamp (Lugt 1230b), verso, lower center, in black].
Linked open data
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- Object type
- AAT300033973
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