DOI issue:
Część III. Badania atrybucyjne i technologiczne nad dawnym malarstwem i rysunkiem / Part III. Attribution and Technological Research on Old Master Paintings and Drawings
DOI article:Borusowski, Piotr: Zaginiony i odnaleziony. Rysunek Klęcząca Joanna d'Arc Petera Paula Rubensa w Muzeum Narodowym w Warszawie
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45362#0332
Piotr Borusowski Lost and Found. The Drawing of Joan of Arc by Peter Paul Rubens...
331
Logan pointed out to me that if Rubens’s sketches are made in pen and ink, in a precise and
detailed manner, they usually represent copies of a work rather than designs. Preliminary
compositional drawings executed in this technique are, in turn, hasty and rather imprecise.97
However, one should bear in mind that Joan of Arc was probably created on commission
and based on a specific design or designs presented to the artist. Therefore, a typical, rough
compositional sketch would have been inappropriate; to a certain extent, the figure of Joan is
a copy of a sculpture, although Rubens has altered the appearance of the armour.98
Another point raised by Logan is that the Warsaw drawing should first and foremost be
analysed in the context of portrait drawings. She noted that Rubens used specific techniques
depending on the function and purpose of a sketch - and was consistent in this division.99
To create portrait studies, he predominantly used black crayon, sometimes supplementing
it with white and red crayons. The justification for this practice is very simple - crayons lend
themselves perfectly to registering the subtleties of the human face. However, what is striking
is that the drawings in question are, above all, studies of heads, more rarely busts and torsos
- these are studies of the physiognomy of posing figures, rather than designs for composi-
tions of entire paintings.100 There is only one exception: Man on Horseback of 1603 held at the
Staatliche Graphische Sammlung in Munich, which is executed in pen and brown ink and
represents a study for a monumental painting, the portrait of the Duke of Lerma (fig. 18).101
In fact, interestingly enough the face of the rider does not correspond to that of the Duke.102
Rubens probably copied his image from the official portrait by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz in
the final stages of work on his painting. The functions of the Munich drawing and Rubens’s
other portrait sketches are different - with the former serving as a modello or vidimus of the
entire composition, created to be presented to the commissioner, and the latter representing
studies of the physiognomy of individual characters to be portrayed in the final painting.103
This difference surely explains the use of different techniques. Essentially, however, I believe
that Joan of Arc should not be compared with portrait drawings. Her face bears no specific
characteristics that would enable her to be recognized as the French heroine. On the contrary:
she is more of a type and, in addition, only partially visible, as she is depicted in profile. It is
the composition of the drawing, the armour, long hair and, perhaps most importantly, the
direct reference to the figure from the Orléans bridge that enable the “kneeling knight” to be
identified. This reference would be particularly clear to those from the circle of Peiresc and
du Lys, who - knowing the sculpture - could immediately recognize the figure depicted in the
97 E-mail from Anne-Marie Logan of 31 March 2014.. I would like to thank Anne-Marie Logan for her
stimulating comments on the first draft of this article (even if this revised version probably still will not allay her
scepticism about Rubens’s authorship).
98 McGrath, op. cit., vol. 2, s. 320.
99 E-mail from Anne-Marie Logan of 31 March 2014.
100 See, in particular Frances Huemer, Portraits Painted in Foreign Countries (London, 1977). Corpus
Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard. 19 (1); Hans Vlieghe, Portraits of identified sitters painted in Antwerp (New York,
1987). Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard. 19 (2); Logan, Plomp, op. cit., passim.
101 Peter Paul Rubens, Man on Horseback, 1603, pen and brown ink over the black chalk outline, 76.1 x
41 cm, inv. no. 1983.84 Z, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich (the painting is in the collection of Museo
Nacional del Prado, Madrid).
102 For exhaustive information on the drawing and the circumstances of its creation, see Logan, Plomp,
op. cit., pp. 90-93, cat. no. 13.
103 In consequence, the portrayed sitter could avoid long hours of posing.
331
Logan pointed out to me that if Rubens’s sketches are made in pen and ink, in a precise and
detailed manner, they usually represent copies of a work rather than designs. Preliminary
compositional drawings executed in this technique are, in turn, hasty and rather imprecise.97
However, one should bear in mind that Joan of Arc was probably created on commission
and based on a specific design or designs presented to the artist. Therefore, a typical, rough
compositional sketch would have been inappropriate; to a certain extent, the figure of Joan is
a copy of a sculpture, although Rubens has altered the appearance of the armour.98
Another point raised by Logan is that the Warsaw drawing should first and foremost be
analysed in the context of portrait drawings. She noted that Rubens used specific techniques
depending on the function and purpose of a sketch - and was consistent in this division.99
To create portrait studies, he predominantly used black crayon, sometimes supplementing
it with white and red crayons. The justification for this practice is very simple - crayons lend
themselves perfectly to registering the subtleties of the human face. However, what is striking
is that the drawings in question are, above all, studies of heads, more rarely busts and torsos
- these are studies of the physiognomy of posing figures, rather than designs for composi-
tions of entire paintings.100 There is only one exception: Man on Horseback of 1603 held at the
Staatliche Graphische Sammlung in Munich, which is executed in pen and brown ink and
represents a study for a monumental painting, the portrait of the Duke of Lerma (fig. 18).101
In fact, interestingly enough the face of the rider does not correspond to that of the Duke.102
Rubens probably copied his image from the official portrait by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz in
the final stages of work on his painting. The functions of the Munich drawing and Rubens’s
other portrait sketches are different - with the former serving as a modello or vidimus of the
entire composition, created to be presented to the commissioner, and the latter representing
studies of the physiognomy of individual characters to be portrayed in the final painting.103
This difference surely explains the use of different techniques. Essentially, however, I believe
that Joan of Arc should not be compared with portrait drawings. Her face bears no specific
characteristics that would enable her to be recognized as the French heroine. On the contrary:
she is more of a type and, in addition, only partially visible, as she is depicted in profile. It is
the composition of the drawing, the armour, long hair and, perhaps most importantly, the
direct reference to the figure from the Orléans bridge that enable the “kneeling knight” to be
identified. This reference would be particularly clear to those from the circle of Peiresc and
du Lys, who - knowing the sculpture - could immediately recognize the figure depicted in the
97 E-mail from Anne-Marie Logan of 31 March 2014.. I would like to thank Anne-Marie Logan for her
stimulating comments on the first draft of this article (even if this revised version probably still will not allay her
scepticism about Rubens’s authorship).
98 McGrath, op. cit., vol. 2, s. 320.
99 E-mail from Anne-Marie Logan of 31 March 2014.
100 See, in particular Frances Huemer, Portraits Painted in Foreign Countries (London, 1977). Corpus
Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard. 19 (1); Hans Vlieghe, Portraits of identified sitters painted in Antwerp (New York,
1987). Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard. 19 (2); Logan, Plomp, op. cit., passim.
101 Peter Paul Rubens, Man on Horseback, 1603, pen and brown ink over the black chalk outline, 76.1 x
41 cm, inv. no. 1983.84 Z, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich (the painting is in the collection of Museo
Nacional del Prado, Madrid).
102 For exhaustive information on the drawing and the circumstances of its creation, see Logan, Plomp,
op. cit., pp. 90-93, cat. no. 13.
103 In consequence, the portrayed sitter could avoid long hours of posing.