Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • The Collection
  • Projects & Publications
  • Past Exhibitions

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Image

Previous 1 2 3 / 3 Next

Flemish

Double-sided sheet: Recto: Six Figures Copied from Albrecht Dürer's Presentation of the Virgin; Verso: fragment of a portrait sketch, 1630 - 1640

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

Flemish

Title

Double-sided sheet: Recto: Six Figures Copied from Albrecht Dürer's Presentation of the Virgin; Verso: fragment of a portrait sketch

Year

1630 - 1640

Medium

Recto: Pen and ink on paper prepared with ink wash

Dimensions

8.6 x 13.5 cm (3 3/8 x 5 5/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Verso: inscribed in graphite: "P. P. Rubens"

Stamped with the collector's mark of Charles Duits (Amsterdam 1882-London 1969; Lugt 533a)

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Drawings and Watercolors

Credit

Anonymous gift

Object Number

83.226.1

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Under the Magnifying Glass

September 22, 2000 - January 14, 2001

Comparison of the drawing styles on the front and back of this sheet shows that both images were made by the same artist. The drawing on the recto side is copied from a woodcut, The Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple by the renowned German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). In his series Life of the Virgin, Dürer portrayed the young Virgin Mary mounting the temple stairs. In this drawing, the artist omitted the central figure of the scene and extracted six figures from the crowd, abbreviating their features. These artistic choices, as well as the emphasis on the drapery, suggest that this is a costume study based on the Dürer print, rather than a finished work for sale. An examination of the incomplete figure study on the reverse of the sheet supports this conclusion. Here the artist focused even more dramatically on the costume and its puffy sleeves. Typical of 1630s dress, the costume itself provides us with an approximate date for the drawing. Although many elements in the two works are of fine quality, certain passages within the drawing are inarticulate, suggesting that the artist was a student: for example, the male figure clutching his hat. The action of the hand is not convincing, and the hat itself barely identifiable. It was common practice for artists to learn through copying from prints by master artists. The style of the drawing emulates Rubens and suggests a Flemish artist.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Double-sided sheet: Recto: Six Figures Copied from Albrecht Dürer's Presentation of the Virgin; Verso: fragment of a portrait sketch with the accession number of 83.226.1. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

RISD Museum

  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Instagram
  •  Vimeo
  •  Pinterest
  •  SoundCloud

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Secondary

  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use