The Purification of Aeneas

c. 1663

Michel Corneille

Associated Names
Michel Corneille

Artist, French, 1642 - 1708

This is a drawing of a mythological scene. The composition shows several mythological figures engaged in various activities within a lush, wooded environment, near architectural structures and decorative vases. The scene centers around a group of figures, with one reclining while others attend to them. In the background, ethereal figures emerge from the clouds. The drawing uses a soft color palette and delicate line work to create a sense of depth and movement. The landscape includes rolling hills, a body of water, and distant architecture.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink with blue wash over traces of graphite, on laid paper, squared in graphite for transfer, with later framing line in brown ink

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 22.7 x 33.4 cm (8 15/16 x 13 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1994.1.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Succi Limited, London); purchased by NGA, 1994.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2009

  • Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2009, 74-75, 278-279, no. 28 (color).

Inscriptions

signed at center right on pedestal in pen and brown ink: Corneille (partially abraded); signed (?) again, lower left in pen and black ink: M. Corneille.; by later hand, center right verso in graphite, below a graphtie study of a kneeling woman with a staff: Corneille del.

Watermarks

Three stars in a circle (Italian watermark)

Wikidata ID

Q64614694

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