Nicolas Trigault (1577–1628), depicted here in a luminous Chinese-style silk robe, was part of the Jesuit mission to China from 1610 until his death. Rubens, who was especially interested in the exotic costume, made this drawing in 1617 while Trigault was fundraising in Europe. In 1579 Trigault’s predecessor in China, Matteo Ricci (1552–1610), had initiated the Jesuits' adoption of Chinese scholars' dress to win the social acceptance and political protection of elite Chinese scholars and officeholders. Yet the Jesuits' clever sartorial choice did not prevent their downfall. After converting more than two hundred thousand Chinese people to Christianity, the Jesuits were expelled and the Yongzheng emperor banned their religion in 1724.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Overall: full sheet
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Portrait of Nicolas Trigault in Chinese Costume
Artist:Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, Siegen 1577–1640 Antwerp)
Date:1617
Medium:Black, red, and white chalk, blue pastel, and pen and brown and black ink on light brown laid paper
Dimensions:17 9/16 x 9 3/4 in. (44.6 x 24.8 cm)
Classification:Drawings
Credit Line:Purchase, Carl Selden Trust, several members of The Chairman's Council, Gail and Parker Gilbert, and Lila Acheson Wallace Gifts, 1999
Accession Number:1999.222
Inscription: At upper right, inscribed "nota quod color pullus non est / peculiaris Sinensium litteratis sed / Patribus S Iesù exceptis tamen fascijs / ceruleis quae ["omnibus" deleted] ceteris [que] communes sunt / Sinenses porro vestis colore non uno / sed quovis promiscue utantur. / Si unum reserves flavum scilicet / qui proprius est Regis", and, at lower left, inscribed "Tricau[tius?] Soc. Jesu [?] / delineatum/ die 17 Januaris" in pen and brown ink, by Rubens ["Note that the dark colour is not peculiar to Chinese scholars but to the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, except for the blue facings which are common to all. The Chinese, furthermore, do not use one colour only in their clothing, but any colour they like except yellow, which is reserved for the King", and "Trigualt S.J., drawn on the 17th of January"]; at lower right, inscribed "A Van Dyck feci" in pen and ink. On the secondary support, at lower right, inscribed "A van Dyck feci" in pen and ink; at lower center, inscribed "The Siamese Ambassador, an Armenian, sketched from the life by Van Dyck" in pen and ink; at lower left "The Siamese Ambassador, an Armenian [...] by Van Dyck when he was sent to England" in graphite. Verso of the secondary support: at top center, inscribed "Lady Sidmouth-/Presented to Eliza Hobhouse 1842." in pen and ink
Marianne Scott (British)d.1842; Eliza Hobhouse (British); Henry Hobhouse (British); Sir Arthur Hobhouse (British); Robert Smith; sale, Christie's, New York, January 28, 1999, lot 92; Vendor: Katrin Bellinger Kunsthandel , Munich
Royal Academy of Arts. "Exhibition of Works by Van Dyck," 1900.
Royal Academy of Arts. "Exhibition of 17th century Art in Europe," January 3, 1938–March 12, 1938.
Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen. "P.P. Rubens Paintings - oil sketches - Drawings," June 29, 1977 - September 30, 1977.
Davis Museum and Cultural Center. "Flemish Drawings in the Age of Rubens: Selected works from American collections," October 15, 1993 - February 20, 1994.
Cleveland Museum of Art. "Flemish Drawings in the Age of Rubens: Selected works from American collections," October 15, 1993 - February 20, 1994.
Wellesley College Art Museum, Wellesley, Massachusetts. "Flemish Drawings in the Age of Rubens: Selected works from American collections," October 15, 1993 - February 20, 1994.
Vienna. Graphische Sammlung Albertina. "Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640): The Drawings," September 15–December 5, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640): The Drawings," January 14–April 3, 2005.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions," October 24, 2008–February 1, 2009.
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. "Looking East: Rubens's Encounter with Asia," March 5, 2013–June 9, 2013.
Musée du Louvre-Lens. "Rubens and Europe," May 22, 2013–September 23, 2013.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500–1800," September 9, 2013–January 5, 2014.
New York. Frick Collection. "Van Dyck: The Anatomy of Portraiture," March 2–June 5, 2016.
Exhibition of Works by Van Dyck.. Royal Academy of Arts, 1900, cat. no. 91.
C. Stuart Wortley "Rubens' drawings of Chinese Costumes" Old Master Drawings. 1934, fig. no. 44, pp. 40-47, ill.
Royal West of England Academy Art Treasures of the West Country Exh. cat. 1937, cat. no. 251.
Catalogue of the Exhibition of 17th century Art in Europe. Exh. cat. Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1938, cat. no. 590.
Frans Baudouin "Nota's bij de tentoonstelling Schetsen en tekeningen van P.P. Rubens." Bulletin de Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique. vol. 2, 1953, p. 57.
H. Bernard-Maître S.J. "Un portrait de Nicolas Trigault dessiné par Rubens" Archivium Historicum Societatis Jesu. vol. 22, 1953, pp. 303-13.
Ludwig Burchard, Roger-A. d'Hulst Catologus, Tekeningen van Peter Paul Rubens, Rubenshuis. 1956, cat. no. under no. 66, p. 67.
Julius S. Held Rubens: Selected Drawings. Phaidon Press, London, 1959.
Ludwig Burchard, R.-A. d'Hulst Rubens Drawings. Brussels, 1963, cat. no. 147, pp. 230-2, ill.
J. I. Kuznetsov Risunki Rubensa. Moscow, 1974, cat. no. 100, ill.
Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen P. P. Rubens Paintings-Oil Sketches-Drawings. Jun 29- Sept 30 1977, cat. no. 156, p. 156.
Anne Marie Logan, Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann "Dessins de Rubens." Revue de l'art. SLII, 1978, p. 97, ill.
Julius S. Held Rubens Selected Drawings. 2nd edition (revised). Oxford, 1986, cat. no. under no. 131, p. 120.
Per Bjurström Dürer to Delacroix: Great Master Drawings from Stockholm Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Washington, D.C., 1986.
Hans Vlieghe Rubens Portraits of Identified Sitters in Antwerp; Corpus Rubeniaum Ludwig Burchard. vol. 2, part 19, 1987, cat. no. 154b, fig. no. 227, pp. 195-196, ill.
George R. Goldner with help from Lee Hendrix and Gloria Williams The J. Paul Getty Museum. European Drawings: Catalogue of the Collections. J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1988, cat. no. under no. 93, p. 212.
Felice Stampfle, Nicholas Turner Netherlandish Drawings of the 15th and 16th centuries and Flemish Drawings of the 17th and 18th centuries in the Pierpont Morgan Library. Morgan Library & Museum, New York, 1991, cat. no. under no. 310, pp. 145-148.
Anne Marie Logan Flemish Drawings in the Age of Rubens, Selected Works from American Collections. 1993, cat. no. 48, fig. no. 48, p. 192, ill.
François Borne Portrait of a Jesuit Missionary. Christie's Magazine. Christie's, New York, Jan-Feb 1999, pp. 40-41, ill.
Alan Wintermute, The Frick Collection, National Gallery of Canada Watteau and His World: French Drawings from 1700-1750. Exh. cat. 1999-2000, fig. no. 15, pp. 26-27, ill.
Carmen C. Bambach, Colta Ives, Nadine Orenstein, Michiel C. Plomp, Perrin Stein "Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 1999-2000." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 58, no. 20, Fall 2000, p. 30, ill.
Anne Marie Logan, Michiel C. Plomp, Dr. Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Heinz Widauer Peter Paul Rubens. Exh. cat., Albertina, Vienna, Sept. 15 - Dec. 5, 2004 (also see New York, 2005). Dr. Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Heinz Widauer, Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna, 2004, pp. 18, 99, 105, 106, 112, cat. no. 74, pp. 330-337, ill.
Anne Marie Logan, Michiel C. Plomp Peter Paul Rubens: The Drawings. Exh. cat.: January 15 - April 3, 2005; also Albertina, Vienna, 2004. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2005, pp. 51, 56, 272, cat. no. 73, pp. 219-225, ill.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's collection of drawings and prints—one of the most comprehensive and distinguished of its kind in the world—began with a gift of 670 works from Cornelius Vanderbilt, a Museum trustee, in 1880.
