Art Institute of Chicago

Studies of a Roman Sarcophagus

Peter Paul Rubens

Date

1602/03

Medium

Black chalk on cream laid paper

Culture

Flanders

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

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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