Apollo and Daphne (recto); Fragmentary sketches (verso)

Although Van der Werff’s drawings deserve further study, the majority of them seems to consist of carefully executed modelli, executed in chalk and more often than not squared for transfer (see B. Gaehtgens, Adriaen van der Werff, 1659-1722, Munich, 1987, p. 184). In contrast, the present drawing is marked by a freedom almost unmatched by any other known sheet by the artist, while being fully consistent with his medium of choice, subject-matter, and style. A drawing in the Rijksmuseum (inv. RP-T-1941-19), probably a ricordo, may serve as a comparison, even if it is drier in execution. No painting by Van der Werff representing Apollo’s attempted rape of Daphne and her rescue by her father (the river god Peneus, at right in the drawing), who transformed her into a laurel tree (Ovid, Metamorphoses, book I), seems preserved or recorded. However, the Arcadian setting and the figures, especially that of the sensuous Daphne, are close to several paintings by Van der Werff, such as that depicting a couple of loving shepherds, also in Amersterdam (ibid., no. 24, pl. IV). In later years Van der Werff’s figures become more elongated. It is thus likely that this drawing dates from the first half of his career, before Van der Werff became court painter to the elector palatine, Johann Wilhelm, in 1696.