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1 of 253523 objects
Crispijn de Passe the Elder (1564-1637)
The Death of Eurydice c.1600
Pen and brown ink with brown and blue wash; indented for transfer | 7.1 x 12.7 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 914954
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A drawing of Eurydice accompanied by a naiad, picking flowers under a tree on the left, while a serpent bites her fatally. To right, Orpheus plays his lyre before Pluto and Proserpina, while through a natural arch he can be seen praying to be allowed to cross the Styx (Book X, Ovid's Metamorphoses). From one of two 18th century albums of drawings, which, with the exception of four (W&C 134-7), were all preparatory studies for an edition of illustrations to Ovid's Metamorphoses. They were engraved in reverse by the artist, and were accompanied by distichs at the bottom of each plate. The first edition was published in Cologne in 1602, and the second in 1607.
Provenance
Possibly Zaccaria Sagredo (d. 1729); from whose heirs bought by Joseph Smith,1752; from whom bought by George III, 1762; first recorded in a Royal Collection inventory of c.1810 (Inv. A, p.150: 'Designs from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Pen & Ink? by
2 vols. obl: 4to. Vol I - 41 pages. Vol: 2 - 41. pages') -
Medium and techniques
Pen and brown ink with brown and blue wash; indented for transfer
Measurements
7.1 x 12.7 cm (sheet of paper)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
RL 14954
