by-nc

Fall of Phaethon

Maker

(artist)
1534-1593

Title

Fall of Phaethon

Date of Production

1569

Medium

pen and brown ink, brown wash on laid paper, with brown ink framing lines

Dimensions

Height: 18.6 cm
Width: 27.2 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.22

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords









Label Text

Ovid tells in the 'Metamorphoses' how Phoebus, the Sun God, allowed his son Phaethon to steer the sun's chariot across the sky one day. Unable to control the horses, Phaethon drives too high and then too low, alternately freezing and scorching the earth. A furious Jove, shown here in the upper centre of the sky shoots Phaethon from the sky with a thunderbolt. In the foreground are the terrible results of the overheating of the earth: river deities expire from the heat, boats are grounded and fish expire. In the chariot, a wheat sheaf behind her, Tellus, a goddess symbolising the earth, laments the chaos Phaethon has caused.

Provenance

E. Parsons & Sons (London); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), n.d. (£7.5); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Landscapes in the Making: Dutch & Flemish 16-17th Century Drawings from the Courtauld Gallery, Tobu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 03/11/2000-24/12/2000; Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Shizuoka, 02/02/2001-11/03/2001; Koriyama City Museum of Art, Koriyama, 17/03/2001-15/04/2001

Renaissance et Maniérisme dans les Écoles du Nord, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 16/10/1985-16/12/1985; Hamburger Kunsthalle, 16/05/1986-29/06/1986

The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/09/1986-30/11/1986; The Drawing Center, New York, 08/04/1986-26/07/1986 ...More

Flemish drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, October 1977-January 1978

Old Master Drawings from the Witt Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, 01/09/1960-01/10/1960

Drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1958-59

Drawings from the Witt Collection at the Courtauld Institute of Art, St James's Square, London; York City Art Gallery; Peterborough Art Gallery, 1953

Trésor de l’art flamand du moyen âge au XVIIIme Siècle [Afdeeling van de Oud-Vlaamische Kunst], Antwerp, 1930

Das flämische Landschaftsbild des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts, Galerie Gottschewski und Schäffer, Berlin, 06/11/1927-30/11/1927; Bochum, 1927-28

Exhibition of Belgian and Flemish Art 1300-1900, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1927 ...Less

Literature

Carl Depauw, ‘Een tekening van Hans Bol voor het Stedelijk Prentenkabinet van Antwerpen’, Antwerpen: Tijdschrift der stad Antwerpen, 36, 1, 1990, pp. 5-12
pp. 10, 12, note 16

Eric Solovici, ‘La pêche miraculeuse par Hans Bol (Malines 1534 - Amsterdam 1593)’, L'Estampile, l'objet d'art, 223, 1989, pp. 85- 86
p. 86

Renaissance et Maniérisme dans les Écoles du Nord, École des Beaux-Arts, Paris and Hamburger Kunsthalle, 1985-1986
p. 156 under no. 79
ill. p. 156 ...More

The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1986
cat. no. 1
ill. p. 27

Flemish drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, October 1977- January 1978
cat. no. 16

Franz, H.G., 'Hans Bol als Landschaftszeichner' in 'Jahrbuch des Kunsthistorischen Instituts der Univeristat Graz, 1965
pp. 32, 37, 40-41, 62
pl. LIII, fig. 52, signature and date repr. no. 3 in Appendix

Old Master Drawings from the Witt Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, 1960
cat. no. 53

Drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1958 - 1959
cat. no. 19

Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 123

Drawings from the Witt Collection at the Courtauld Institute of Art, St James's Square, London, York City Art Gallery and Peterborough Art Gallery, 1953
cat. no. 81

Mémorial de l’exposition d’art flamand ancien à Anvers, Antwerp, 1930 Paris 1932
cat. no. 362

Exhibition of Belgian and Flemish Art 1300-1900, Royal Academy of Arts, London 1927, 1927
cat. no. 534

...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: centre: Gothic letter P, with split tail, surmounted by a quatrefoil (match or variant of Piccard 108923, Kempen 1568)

Inscription: Recto: upper centre edge, brown ink, artist’s signature and date, the “HB” in monogram: “HBol / 1569”. Mount (removed in 1977, in portfolio from P&D), Recto: lower right, graphite: “x 3 / D.1”. Mount (removed in 1977, in portfolio from P&D), Verso: lower left corner, pen and ink (brown): “V. 117.”.

Collector's mark: none.

Information on this object may be incomplete and will be updated as research progresses. We are particularly committed to addressing any discriminatory or offensive language and ideas that might be present in our records. To help improve this record, and to enquire about images of The Courtauld Gallery Collection, please email gallery.collectionsonline@courtauld.ac.ukFind out more about using and licensing our images.

____________________________

Buy a print from our collection