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Study for Scilurus, King of Scythians, on his deathbed

Maker

(artist)
1711-1781

Formerly attributed to
(artist)
1619-1690

Title

Date of Production

1767

Medium

graphite, grey ink, grey wash on laid paper, with grey ink framing lines, cut into an arch, with an added strip at the lower left edge and the entire lower edge added on a separate piece of paper

Dimensions

Height: 56.1 cm
Width: 29.6 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.593

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

Notes

Commissioned by the Polish King Stanislaus-Auguste Poniatowski, for the chambre des seigneurs at his royal castle, the painting for which this drawing is a study (now in the National Museum, Warsaw), illustrates an ancient king on his deathbed, commanding his sons to break a bundle of arrows which resists their efforts, underscoring their unity. This sheet is one of two drawings and two studies in oil for the painting, which was shown at the Salon of 1767 (our thanks to Jennifer Tonkovich for this information).

Provenance

Sir Thomas Lawrence, London (1769-1830), L.2445; Dr Barry Delany, Kilkenny (1815-1888), L.350 [not listed in his 1872 sale catalogue but could have been in a portfolio]; Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b; Witt Bequest 1952

Literature

Willk-Brocard, Nicole, Une dynastie Les Hallé. Daniel (1614-1675). Claude Guy (1652-1736). Noël (1711-1781), Paris 1995
no. 383
Illus. p. 424

Diderot, Salons, Oxford 1957-1967
Illus. vol. II, pl. 11

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermarks: Verso, upper centre: “A?AUVIN FIN / AUVERGNE //”; Countermark: lower centre: bunch of grapes (not found in Heawood). Backing sheet (removed, in portfolio from P&D), centre, hard to read: “CBU / [?] / CAUVRE //”.

Inscription: Recto: lower centre, notations in grey ink accompanying two scales: “pieds de proportions pour les figures” and “pieds pour La proportions du tableau.”. Scraps removed from mount, cut down and now in file, all in graphite: “Noël Hallé / Charles le Brun [this crossed through] / 1619-1690 / Coll. Sir T. Lawrence / Barry Delany //”; “for cmmssion Poland. / 8/mos / Story of dying man who told his […] to / bring a bundle of sticks as symbol of Unity //”. Backing sheet (removed, in portfolio from P&D), Verso: upper centre, graphite: "Noel hallé falu"; centre, graphite, Witt number: "593"; lower right, graphite: "Colln of Sir Thos. Lawrence P.R.A. / Stamp in left hand lower corner / of Drawing //"; lower left, graphite: "Charles le Brun / B. 1619 / D. 1690 //".

Collector's mark: Recto: lower left, blindstamped: Sir Thomas Lawrence (L.2445). Scraps removed from mount, cut down and now in file: pen and brown ink: Barry Delany (L.350); stamped in black ink: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).

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