An old woman and a boy holding candles

The present lot is based on the etching made by Paulus Pontius (Holl.2) after a painting by Rubens in private collection (shown at the exhibition El Greco: Mystery and Illumination, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1989, exhibition catalogue, p.76, n^o25, with ill.). In the margin of the etching two lines from Ovid's Ars amatoria, are cited: "Who is to stop one light being taken from another? A thousand may be taken without any loss to the original". The imagery implies that knowledge, like the flame of a candle, can be passed on without any loss to the source. With this concetto Rubens possibly alludes to the process of artistic training from master to pupil.

See illustration