As a young artist in Italy between 1600 and 1608, Rubens ardently copied the works of art he encountered for both study and later reference. When he made this record of Raphael's fresco above the entrance to the Chigi Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria della Pace, Rome, Rubens introduced subtle changes that transformed Raphael's static, planar composition into a more dynamic and forceful scene. He imbued the foreground figures with a greater sense of mass and intensified their expressions to contrast the prophet's formidable wisdom with the scribe's youthful concentration. Rubens never adapted this composition for his own use, but he was strongly influenced by Raphael's imposing treatment of drapery for figures in the religious scenes he painted upon his return to Antwerp.
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Artwork Details
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Title:The Prophets David and Daniel
Artist:Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, Siegen 1577–1640 Antwerp)
Artist: After Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) (Italian, Urbino 1483–1520 Rome)
Date:ca. 1601–2
Medium:Red chalk, brush and red and pink wash, bodycolor, heightened with white
Dimensions:13 7/16 x 11 1/4 in. (34.1 x 28.6 cm)
Classification:Drawings
Credit Line:Purchase, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund and Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Rupp Gift, 1995
Accession Number:1995.401
Inscription: Recto, lower center, in pen and red ink, in Richardson's hand: Rubens from Raffaële Verso, bottom center, in graphite: Baruck copying from ye (?) Rolle of Jeremiah Verso, center, in graphite: 28606 Verso, center, in pen and ink: y(?) Verso, center, in pen and ink: N10y Verso, top, in pen and ink: In the Madonna della Pace at Rome, 'tis a part of the famous work of Raffaile there (erased words?) Verso, top right, in pen and ink: J Richardson
Marking: Recto, lower right: collector's mark of Jonathan Richardson, Sr. (Lugt 2184).
Jonathan Richardson Sr. (British); Sale Christie's, London, July 4, 1995, lot 127; Vendor: Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," November 27, 1995–February 25, 1996.
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.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "New Acquisitions in Context: Selections from the Department of Drawings and Prints," September 7–December 5, 2023.
Anne Marie Logan "Book review of Peter Paul Rubens Copenhagen exhibition" Master Drawings. 1978, cat. no. 69, p. 424.
Christie's, London Old Master Drawings from the Stichting Collection P. en N. Boer. [Sale catalogue]. July 4, 1995, cat. no. 127, fig. no. 127, pp. 42-43, ill.
Carmen C. Bambach, Suzanne Boorsch, Nadine Orenstein, Carolyn Logan, Perrin Stein "Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 1995-1996." in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 54, no. 2, Autumn 1996, (entry by Carolyn Logan), p. 26, 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. 45, 83, 112, cat. no. 5, pp. 140-141, 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. 14, 56, cat. no. 114, pp. 305-307, ill.
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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.
