Design for a Wall Decoration [recto]

1640/1645

Jacob Jordaens

Associated Names
Jacob Jordaens

Artist, Flemish, 1593 - 1678

This is a drawing of a classical architectural scene featuring statues and a dog. The image depicts an ornate structure with detailed arches and pilasters. There is a statue of a nude figure standing on a pedestal. In the foreground, there is a dog, and above the arches there are further decorative elements and small statues. The composition is dominated by a sense of grandeur and resembles a stage set or a theatrical backdrop, with open spaces and symmetrical design, invoking a sense of depth and elegance. The use of lines and shading in the drawing gives a strong sense of three-dimensionality to the architecture depicted.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    brush with brown and black ink and color washes, heightened with white, over black chalk on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 31.9 x 18.8 cm (12 9/16 x 7 3/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1975.13.1.a

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    d'Hulst 1980, Vol. A, no. 175, State a

Associated Artworks

This is a drawing of a series of abstract sketches. The drawing consists of various rough, freehand sketches scattered on a worn piece of paper. There are faint outlines of figures and geometric shapes in red. The composition is chaotic with scribbles and curved lines, and is accompanied by some indistinct text. The paper is aged.

Sheet of Studies with the Drunken Pan and Nymphs [verso]

Jacob Jordaens

1593

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(sale, Sotheby's, London, 22 November 1974, no. 91); ;(P. & D. Colnaghi, London); acquired 1975 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1978

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art and Promised Gifts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978, pp. 66-67.

1985

  • Graphics Survey Exhibition, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1985-1986.

Bibliography

1980

  • d'Hulst, Roger-A. "'Jordaens Drawings:' Supplement I." Master Drawings XVIII, no. 4 (1980): 360-370.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 671, no. 1068, color repro.

Watermarks

present but not identified

Wikidata ID

Q64579379

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