Lot Essay
The prototype of circa 1618, oil on panel, 122.3 x 76.5 cm, is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (E. McGrath, Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, XIII-2, 1997, pp.161/3, under no.33). The same two figures occur in the Romulus and Remus suckled by the Wolf, Carey collection, Silver Springs, Maryland (E. McGrath, op. cit., XIII-1, fig.115; XIII-2, p.162) and in a preparatory sketch in the collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein (E. Mcgrath, op. cit., XIII-1, fig.116; XIII-2, p.162).