Daniel in the Lions' Den (Rubens)

Daniel in the Lions' Den
Yearc.1614-1616
Mediumoil paint, canvas
Dimensions224.2 cm (88.3 in) × 330.5 cm (130.1 in)
LocationNational Gallery of Art
IdentifiersRKDimages ID: 28802
Websitewww.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.50298.html
[edit on Wikidata]
Portrait of Rubens

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

The Dying Alexander, an ancient sculpture likely used as inspiration for the figure of Daniel

The painting was created after Rubens had 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 of the Dying Alexander and the painting of Jerome from Girolamo Muziano. Rubens would have encountered both of these while in Italy.[3] The painting may have been started in 1612, but it is more often dated between 1613 and 1615.[4]

The reason why Rubens painted this piece and for whom it was originally intended is still unknown.[5] 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.[5]

Painting of Jerome that became inspiration for the seated position

Provenance

The painting's first known owner was Dudley Carleton, who received it as part of a negotiation with Rubens. Rubens said in correspondence with Carleton that he had "repurchased" the painting, suggesting that it may have also been sold to an unknown buyer before this point.[4] Rubens negotiated with Carleton to sell the 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 recorded in a letter to Carleton on April 28, 1618.[6]

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.[5]

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.[5] 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.[7] Duncan bought this painting for Christopher Beckett Denison.[8] This sale took place during the lifetime of William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton.[9]

At 1885, the painting was bought back by Jamieson for the Hamilton family from Denison, at a cost of £2,100.[10] 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.[9] In this sale, the painting was sold for £2,520.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]

Sketch of a lion by Rubens

Description

The size of the painting is approximately 224 x 330 cm, and is painted in oil paint on canvas.[14] According to the National Gallery of Art, it combines "realism and theatricality" to draw a "strong emotional reaction". Several of the lions in the painting seem to stare directly at the viewer, which can make the viewer feel that they are invading the lions' space, just as Daniel is doing. The lions were painted life-size to heighten their immediate menace.[13]

Study for Daniel

The subject is from the Book of Daniel, 6:1–28. Rubens may have based the lioness on a Renaissance bronze sculpture from Padua, but he stated in his letter to Carleton that both the lions and the leopards were "done from life". Rubens had access to exotic animals due to his role as a court painter; Dutch painter Jacob Campo Weyerman recounted an occasion in Ruben's studio when Rubens tickled a lion to make it open its mouth and provide the right expression to be studied.[4] The lion itself may be a Moroccan subspecies which was already extinct in the wild at the time that the painting was created.[15]

Rubens' sketch of the Paduan bronze lioness that may have inspired the painting

The painting shows Daniel as a young man.[13] However, according to Biblical chronology, Daniel would have been over eighty years old at the time of the incident.[16] Although the painting shows Daniel praying, this detail is not included in Daniel chapter 6, but it is mentioned in the deuterocanonical Chapter 14.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Daniel in the Lions' Den - Sir Peter Paul Rubens". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Harris, Ann Sutherland (2005). Seventeenth-century Art & Architecture. Laurence King Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-85669-415-5.
  3. ^ Libby, Alexandra (May 23, 2019). "Rubens in the Royal Menagerie". FAMSF. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Woollett, Anne T.; Suchtelen, Ariane van (2006). Rubens & Brueghel: A Working Friendship. Getty Publications. pp. 196–197. ISBN 978-0-89236-848-8.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b "Peter Paul Rubens - Daniel in the lions' den". www.pubhist.com. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "Hamilton Palace : dispersal and demolition". hamilton.rcahms.gov.uk. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  12. ^ Wheelock, Arthur K. (2005). Flemish Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. National Gallery of Art. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-89468-348-0.
  13. ^ Tuschka, Alexandra (April 26, 2022). "Peter Paul Rubens - Daniel in the Lion's Den". the artinspector US. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  14. ^ "Sir Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640)". www.nga.gov. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  15. ^ Boice, James Montgomery (2006). Daniel: An Expositional Commentary. Baker Books. p. 68.
  16. ^ 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.
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