Studio of Sir Peter Paul Rubens

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The canvas is lined and the paint layer is secure but there is distortion through the picture plane and the damages are raised. The damages are obvious and it is likely that the painting was folded at some point in its life . Some areas of paint have been abraded, also, including Melchizedek's blue coat and other dark passages. Between the damages there can be seen sections of the painting where the paint is in a good preserved condition, where the texture is good and the colours are strong."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This is a close derivation of Rubens' design which forms part of the Eucharist series of tapestries comissioned by Isabella Clara Eugenia, daughter of Philip II, for the Descalzas Reales circa 1622. Two modelli exist, one in Madrid, Museo del Prado,¹ and another in Washington, National Gallery of Art.² The finished canvas which measures 445 by 571 cm, and therefore of slightly smaller dimensions than the final tapestry by J. Geubels, J. Raes, J. Fobert and H. Vervoet in the Descalzas Reales,³ and which was executed in part by Rubens and in part by his assistants, is in Sarasota, Florida in the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.⁴ The present work omits the surrounding trompe l'oeil architectural framing which, in different forms, characterises each modello as well as the Ringling canvas. Furthermore, the present work omits the bowing horse, pageboy, and further soldiers which can be seen behind Abraham in all other versions.

1. N. de Poorter, Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, II, The Eucharist Series, vol. I, London 1978, pp. 286-88, no. 7b, reproduced vol. II, fig. 121.
2. Ibid, vol. I, pp. 288-92, no. 7c, reproduced vol. II, fig. 122.
3. Ibid, vol. I, pp. 282-85, no. 7, reproduced vol. II, fig. 119.
4. Ibid, vol. I, pp. 292-94, no. 7d, reproduced vol. II, fig, 128.