FJK 111
Rubens Peter-Paul (Flemish, Siegen 1577–1640 Antwerp)
Full-length Portrait of an Habsbourg Emperor (recto)
Seated Man, probably a Bishop (verso)
Date unknown
11 59/64 × 6 17/32 in. (303 × 166 mm)
Medium
Pen, brown ink, charcoal with traces of white chalk on paper (recto)
Charcoal (verso)
Origin
Dr. and Mrs. Francis Springell Collection, Portinscale
Sale, Sotheby’s, London, June 30, 1986, no. 65
Jan Krugier Collection, Monaco, JK 4165
Jan Krugier Foundation
Bibliography
DAVIS Franck, The Illustrated London News, October 24, 1959, p. 489.
MARTIN J.R., Corpus Rubenianum. The Decorations for the Pompa Introitus Ferdinandi, London 1972, pp. 129-131, no. 33a, figs. 53-54.
HELD J., “Some Rubens Drawings Unknown or Neglected,” in Master Drawings, vol. XII, 3, 1974, p. 256.
DÜCKERS Alexander, Linie, Licht und Schatten, Meisterzeichnungen und Skulpturen der Sammlung Jan und Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, Berlin: G & H Verlag, 1999, Catalogue raisonné, p. 416, ill.
RYLANDS Philip, The Timeless Eye. Master Drawings from the Jan and Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski Collection, Berlin: G & H Verlag, 1999, Catalogue raisonné, p. 416, ill.
Exhibitions
London, Colnaghi & Co., Loan Exhibition of Drawings by Old Masters from the Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Francis Springell, 1959, no. 38.
Edinburgh, National Gallery of Scotland, Old Master Drawings from the Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Francis Springell, no. 29.
London, British Museum, Rubens Drawings and Sketches, 1977, p. 143, no. 187, ill.
Notes
Dr. Ludwig Burchard believed that this drawing was connected with Rubens' designs for the Triumphal Arches for the entry of the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand, Governor of the Netherlands, into Antwerp on 17 April 1635. He thought the recto represented the Emperor Ferdinand II and the verso Emperor Maximilian I. Dr. John Rupert Martin has clearly demonstrated that the figures on the Springell sheet do not resemble those effigies in costume or in pose. He finds a closer parallel for the recto in the figure of the Archduke Albert on Rubens' titlepage for the Gelresche Rechten, published in 1620 (see J. R. Judson and C. van de Velde, Corpus Rubenianum... Book Illustrations and Title Pages, London/Brussels 1978, vol. II, fig. 158). The indentations on the recto of the Springell study indicate that Rubens may have taken the figure from a previous drawing and reworked it, with variations.
Sotheby’s, Drawings from the Springell Collection, London June 1986
Request for information/loan
The Jan Krugier Foundation is devoted to increasing the impact of the collection of drawings through regular loans to major exhibitions. Loan applications should include a complete presentation of the project.