Daniel in the Lions' Den (Rubens)
| Daniel in the Lions' Den | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Year | c.1614-1616 |
| Medium | oil paint, canvas |
| Dimensions | 224.2 cm (88.3 in) × 330.5 cm (130.1 in) |
| Location | National Gallery of Art |
| Identifiers | RKDimages ID: 28802 |
| Website | www |
Daniel in the Lions' Den is a painting from around 1615 by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens which is displayed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The painting depicts Daniel in the biblical story of Daniel in the Lions' Den. The artwork was owned by Charles I of England after it was given to him by Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester. The painting currently hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Background
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The painting was created during the period when Rubens returned to Antwerp from Italy at the start of the Twelve Years' Truce in 1609.[1] Rubens had spent eight years in Italy, supported by commissions from the Duke of Mantua. During this time, he was deeply influenced by classical sculptures like Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Correggio, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, and Annibale Carracci.[2] The expression on Daniel's face may show this influence, as it is similar to those on the sculpture Dying Alexander and the painting of Jerome from Girolamo Muziano. Rubens would have encountered both of these while in Italy.[3]
The reason why Rubens painted this piece and for whom it was originally intended is still unknown.[4] Rachel Aviva Pollack suggests that this painting is a political allegory representing the situation during the Twelve Years' Truce, due to the inclusion of exactly ten lions, the same number of provinces within the Southern Netherlands.[4]
Provenance
[edit]The painting was part of a negotiation between the artist and Carleton. Rubens negotiated with him to sell this painting along with works by his assistants, possibly including some painted by Jan Brueghel the Elder, in exchange for antique statues. Initially, Rubens offered 23 paintings, but Carleton only wanted those painted entirely by Rubens himself, including Prometheus Bound, as well as 3,000 guilders' worth of tapestries. However, Rubens negotiated to include more paintings for Carleton in exchange for an additional 1,000 guilders. They settled at that price, and Rubens exchanged his paintings and 2,000 guilders for the statues. Rubens saw this deal as a loss, with Carleton as the winner.[2] This negotiation was written in a letter to Carleton on April 28, 1618.[5]
Later, in 1628, Carleton presented the painting to Charles I in order to advance his career as Secretary of State. The painting was displayed in the Bear Gallery at the Palace of Whitehall from around 1628 to 1641, in the formal reception area leading to Charles' private chambers, as a symbol of his royal authority. The painting was hung alongside Minerva Protecting Peace from Mars, which Rubens had gifted to Charles during his diplomatic mission to London between May 1629 and March 1630.[4]
Charles I gave the painting to his first cousin, James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton. The painting likely served as a symbol of Hamilton’s authority as the king’s representative in Scotland during the Bishops' Wars.[4] It remained at Hamilton Palace in Scotland until 1882, when it was part of the Hamilton Palace sale that was held by Christie, Manson & Woods on the first day of the sale on June, 17 1882. The painting was bought for £3,145 by Duncan.[6] Duncan bought this painting for Christopher Beckett Denison.[7] This sale took place during the lifetime of William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton.[8]
At 1885, the painting was bought back by Jamieson for the Hamilton family from Denison, at a cost of £2,100.[9] The painting was inherited by Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton and included again in the second sale of the Hamilton palace in 1919.[8] In this sale, the painting was sold for £2,520.[10] The painting was purchased by Keatley for Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray. The painting was inherited multiple times until it came to Weetman Harold Miller Pearson, 2nd viscount Cowdray, and then to his son, John Pearson, 3rd Viscount Cowdray until it was sold in 1963.[11] It was then sold to art dealer M. Knoedler, who sold it to the United States, which passed it on in 1965 to the National Gallery of Art, where it now hangs.[12]
Description
[edit]The size of the painting is approximately 224 x 330 cm, and is painted in oil paint on canvas.[13] According to the National Gallery of Art, it combines "realism and theatricality" to draw a "strong emotional reaction". Several lions seem to stare directly at the viewer, making us feel that we are invading their space, much as Daniel is doing at the time. The lions were painted life-size to heighten their immediate menace.[12]
The subject is from the Book of Daniel, 6:1–28. Rubens modeled the lions on a Moroccan subspecies, examples of which were then in the Spanish governor's menagerie in Brussels.
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The painting shows Daniel as a young man.[12] However, according to Biblical chronology, Daniel would have been over eighty years old at the time of the incident.[14] Daniel praying is not written in Chapter 6, but was mentioned in Chapter 14 which is categorized as deuterocanonical.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "Daniel in the Lions' Den - Sir Peter Paul Rubens". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- ^ a b Harris, Ann Sutherland (2005). Seventeenth-century Art & Architecture. Laurence King Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-85669-415-5.
- ^ Libby, Alexandra (May 23, 2019). "Rubens in the Royal Menagerie". FAMSF. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Pollack, Rachel Aviva (2015). Peter Paul Rubens' Daniel in the Lions' Den: Its Sources and Its Political Significance. UMD Theses and Dissertations (Thesis). doi:10.13016/m2s918. hdl:1903/16621.
- ^ Logan, Anne-Marie S.; Rubens, Peter Paul; Plomp, Michiel; N.Y.), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York (2005). Peter Paul Rubens: The Drawings. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-300-10494-3.
- ^ Christie, Manson & Woods (1882). The Hamilton Palace collection : illustrated priced catalogue. Library Philadelphia Museum of Art. Paris : Librairie de l'art ; London : Remington and Co. p. 22.
- ^ Hulst, Roger Adolf d'; Hulst, Roger Adolf d'; Vandenven, M.; Rubens, Peter Paul (1989). Rubens: The Old Testament. Harvey Miller. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-905203-64-5.
- ^ a b "Peter Paul Rubens - Daniel in the lions' den". www.pubhist.com. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ^ Redford, George (1888). Art sales. A history of sales of pictures and other works of art. With notices of the collections sold, names of owners, titles of pictures, prices and purchasers, arranged under the artists of the different schools in order of date. Including the purchases and prices of pictures for the National Gallery. Illustrated with autotypes from small sketches of great pictures & water-colour drawings sold, portraits of eminent collectors and views of their residences, objects of ornamental art, &c., &c. Getty Research Institute. London [Bradbury, Agnew, & co., printers, the "Whitefriars" press]. p. 323.
- ^ "Hamilton Palace : dispersal and demolition". hamilton.rcahms.gov.uk. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ^ Wheelock, Arthur K. (2005). Flemish Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. National Gallery of Art. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-89468-348-0.
- ^ a b c "Daniel in the Lions' Den". National Gallery of Art. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Tuschka, Alexandra (April 26, 2022). "Peter Paul Rubens - Daniel in the Lion's Den". the artinspector US. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
- ^ Boice, James Montgomery (2006). Daniel: An Expositional Commentary. Baker Books. p. 68.
- ^ Xeravits, Géza G. (2019). From Qumran to the Synagogues: Selected Studies on Ancient Judaism. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 265. ISBN 978-3-11-061561-6.
External links
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