The Calumny of Apelles [fol. 6 recto]

1512/1514

French early 16th Century

Associated Names
French early 16th Century

Artist

The image depicts several figures within a structured setting. The focus is on a seated individual on a throne-like chair, exhibiting full body length in a seated position. There are multiple figures surrounding this central person, with varied body parts shown, several on bent knees or standing, directed towards the seated figure. The seated person has long hair, possibly depicted with a crown or headdress, and is wearing a blue robe with red footwear, holding an orb. Around them are figures with different facial features and hair color; some of them exhibit head coverings or hairstyles that suggest medieval or religious attire. These individuals wear robes in a variety of colors, including red, blue, orange, and green, many of which are intricately patterned or textured. One of the figures holds a long staff. The setting appears indoors, with an arched alcove resembling a decorative niche in the background, flanked by columns, and a mosaic pattern. Behind, a fruit-bearing tree emerges, adding verdant contrast to the scene. The flooring consists of a blue tiled pattern defining the area of the scene.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink with watercolor and stylus on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Woodner Collection, Gift of Andrea Woodner

  • Dimensions

    overall: 16.3 x 10.9 cm (6 7/16 x 4 5/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2006.11.30

  • Series Title

    Speculum principis (Mirror for Princes)

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Sale, London, Sotheby's, 13 July 1937, lot 64); (sale, London, Sotheby's, 15-17 November 1937, lot 546); (sale, London, Maggs Bros., Ltd., catalogue 709, 1941, no. 30); (purchased by William H. Schab Gallery via Paul Graupe); purchased by Ian Woodner, New York, by 1973; by inheritance to his daughters, Andrea and Dian Woodner, New York, 1990.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1973

  • Woodner Collection II: Old Master Drawings from the XV to the XVIII Century, William H. Schab Gallery, New York and tour, 1973-74, no. 28.

2009

  • Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2009, 20-21, no. 2c (color).

Bibliography

1941

  • Maggs Brothers. French Books and Prints, Incunabula, Bibles, and Bindings. Catalogue no. 709. London, 1942, no. 30.

1942

  • Saxl, Fritz. "A Spiritual Encyclopedia of the Later Middle Ages." Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 5 (1942): 82-134.

1974

  • Butler, Joseph T. "Old Master Drawings from the Woodner Collection II." Connoisseur 186 (1974): 56-57.

1983

  • Massing, Jean Michel. "The Influence of Erasmus: Text and image in a French pre-emblematic manuscript." Manuscripts in the Fifty Years after the Invention of Printing (Colloquium Paper at the Warburg Institute) 1983: 75-82.

1987

  • Massing, Jean Michel. "The Illustrations of Lucian's Imago Vitae Aulicae." Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes. 50 (1987): 215-16.

1990

  • Massing, Jean Michel. Du texte à l'image. La Calomnie d'Apelle et son iconographie. Strasbourg, 1990: 48, 67, 81, 93, 284-285, no. 8A, pl. 8A.

1994

  • Colenbrander, H.Th. "Een serie tekeningen naar Erasmus' Adagia: Jean Perréal, de Maître aux Pieds-Bots en de Meester van de Legende van de H. Egidius." in Boeken in de late Middeleeuwen. Hermans and van der Hoek, eds. Groningen, 1994: 211-220.

1995

  • Massing, Jean Michel. Erasmian Wit and Proverbial Wisdom. An Illustrated Moral Compendium for François 1er. London, 1995: 70-71, reprod. frontispiece (color) and p. 133.

  • The Touch of the Artist: Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1995: 133, 136, fig. 3.

Wikidata ID

Q64570841

You may be interested in

Loading Results