Lion

c. 1612-1613

Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Artist, Flemish, 1577 - 1640

Drawn with black chalk with white highlights on beige paper, a male lion with a full, wavy mane looks out toward us on this nearly square drawing. He stands with his body angled so his rump is farther away, to our right, but his head faces us, his eyes looking slightly off to our right. His front paws are together and his back feet slightly separated with his tail curled loosely down between his legs. The bottoms of the lion’s feet are cropped by the edge of the paper. His mane touches the top edge and his haunches nearly reach the right edge of the paper, so he fills the sheet. White chalk highlights the lion’s left eye, nose, and closed lips. A few other touches of white appear on his mane and his left shoulder, on our right.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    black chalk, heightened with white, yellow chalk in the background

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 25.2 x 28.3 cm (9 15/16 x 11 1/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1969.7.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

According to an inscription on the back of the drawing, Marquis de Gouvernet (sale, Paris, 6-10 November 1775); purchased by Conseiller Nourri (sale, Paris, 24 February-14 March 1785); purchased by Conseiller de Saint-Maurice (sale, Paris, 1 February 1786). George Fenwick-Owen, Lether Melton (purchased in a mixed lot at Sotheby's in about 1930); Mrs. Denise Fenwick-Owen, London (sale, Sotheby's, London, 27 March 1969, no. 86); NGA purchase via Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, in 1969.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1969

  • In Memoriam, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1969, unnumbered checklist.

1975

  • Rubens, Van Dyck, and Jordaens: Prints and Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1975, no cat.

1978

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art and Promised Gifts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978, p. 63.

1994

  • Flemish Drawings in the Age of Rubens: Selected Works from American Collections, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1994, no. 44, repro.

1998

  • A Collector's Cabinet, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1998, no. 74.

2004

  • Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640): The Drawings, 2004-2005, Albertina Museum, Vienna (no. 44); and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, (no. 46), repro.

Bibliography

1971

  • Cott, Perry B."The Ailsa Mellon Bruce Gifts." _The Connoisseur_178, no. 718 (1971): 253.

1978

  • King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 44-45, pl. 22.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 671, no. 1066, color repro.

1986

  • Mittler, Gene A. Art in Focus. Peoria, 1986: 253, fig. 14.10.

1989

  • d'Hulst, Roger A., and M. Vandenven. Rubens: The Old Testament (Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, Part 3). London, 1989:57h

1997

  • Southgate, M. Therese. The Art of JAMA: One Hundred Covers and Essays from The Journal of the American Medical Association. St. Louis, 1997: 80-81, color repro.

  • Richler, Martha. National Gallery of Art, Washington: A World of Art. London, 1997: 63, fig. 3.

1998

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. A Collector's Cabinet. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1998: no. 74.

2001

  • Mittler, Gene A. and James D. Howze. Creating and Understanding Drawings. New York, 2001: 78-9.

2010

  • Mayhew, Timothy David, Margo Ellis, and Supapan Seraphin. "Natural Black Chalk in Traditional Old Master Drawings." Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 49, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2010): 85, fig. 2 (color; also reproduced on the cover).

Inscriptions

recto: none; verso: in brown ink, in 18th-century hand?: Cette belle etude dessiné par Rubens / a Servi pour Le Sujet de daniel / dans la fosse aux lions / elle a eté acheté chés le Marquis / de gouvernay, par M. nourri / de la vente duquel, elle est [passez?] / les mains du Conseiller St Maurice

Markings

none

Wikidata ID

Q64632549

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