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Lot Essay
This sheet is among the best documented drawings made by Peter Paul Rubens. A series of letters reveals that at the beginning of September 1620 the Count Palatine Wolfgang Wilhelm of Pfalz-Neuburg wrote to his agent Reyngodkt in Brussels inquiring if Rubens would agree to provide ‘abrissen in umbra’ (shaded sketches) for a composition of the Birth of the Virgin for the church of Our Lady in Neuburg. Wolfgang Wilhelm of Pfalz-Neuburg had commissioned the church and donated it to the Jesuits and Rubens had already worked for the new building, having provided three important altarpieces, including the Last Judgement now in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Rubens replied to Reyngodkt that he would work on a drawing and a few weeks later, at the beginning of October, the present sheet was sent by the artist from Antwerp to Brussels. As noted by Anne-Marie Logan, the three horizontal creases visible on the verso of the sheet are probably the result of its being folded to be sent (Logan, op. cit., 1993, p. 199).
Although the drawing was known for a long time, it was only in 1991 that Elizabeth McGrath recognized in it Rubens’ design for a stucco relief executed by the Italian artist Pietro Castelli (fig. 1). The relief is still in the church of Our Lady in Neuburg near the entrance to the left of the nave (McGrath, op. cit., p. 717). In 1992, Horst Stierhof, in his study of the church’s decoration, had independently come to the same conclusion (Stierhof, op. cit., pp. 254-257).
Pietro Castelli was a member of a large family of stuccatori active in Neuburg from 1616 to 1620. He was responsible for the extensive stucco decorations of the church of Our Lady. Knowing that the drawing was meant to serve as a model for Castelli, Rubens worked it out with particular care, indicating highlights and shadows with an abundant use of brown wash, as explicitly requested by the patron. The inscription on the sheet on top of the image is in Rubens’s own hand. While the artist typically did not use Italian for instructions on his drawings, his use of Italian in this instance might be explained because the drawing was designed to be followed by the Italian-speaking Castelli.
Although in the stucco relief the scene is rendered in a style different from Rubens’, Castelli followed very carefully the composition provided by the master. It has been suggested that Rubens might have taken inspiration for the composition from Annibale Carracci's painting of the same subject now in the Louvre (S. Loire, Musée du Louvre. Département des peintures, Ecole italienne. XVIIe siècle. I. Bologne, Paris, 1996, pp. 118-124, ill.).
The drawing was presented as a gift by Patricia Hart to her husband Rodes on their 25th wedding anniversary in 1983.
Although the drawing was known for a long time, it was only in 1991 that Elizabeth McGrath recognized in it Rubens’ design for a stucco relief executed by the Italian artist Pietro Castelli (fig. 1). The relief is still in the church of Our Lady in Neuburg near the entrance to the left of the nave (McGrath, op. cit., p. 717). In 1992, Horst Stierhof, in his study of the church’s decoration, had independently come to the same conclusion (Stierhof, op. cit., pp. 254-257).
Pietro Castelli was a member of a large family of stuccatori active in Neuburg from 1616 to 1620. He was responsible for the extensive stucco decorations of the church of Our Lady. Knowing that the drawing was meant to serve as a model for Castelli, Rubens worked it out with particular care, indicating highlights and shadows with an abundant use of brown wash, as explicitly requested by the patron. The inscription on the sheet on top of the image is in Rubens’s own hand. While the artist typically did not use Italian for instructions on his drawings, his use of Italian in this instance might be explained because the drawing was designed to be followed by the Italian-speaking Castelli.
Although in the stucco relief the scene is rendered in a style different from Rubens’, Castelli followed very carefully the composition provided by the master. It has been suggested that Rubens might have taken inspiration for the composition from Annibale Carracci's painting of the same subject now in the Louvre (S. Loire, Musée du Louvre. Département des peintures, Ecole italienne. XVIIe siècle. I. Bologne, Paris, 1996, pp. 118-124, ill.).
The drawing was presented as a gift by Patricia Hart to her husband Rodes on their 25th wedding anniversary in 1983.