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Constantius appoints Constantine as his successor
Peter Paul Rubens1622
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Sydney, Australia
This is one of a series of oil sketches by Rubens representing the life of Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome. Commissioned by the French Royal tapestry works, they were later repeated as full-scale cartoons from which tapestries were woven (in the process the composition is reversed). Rubens often used painted sketches to transmit his ideas. He used a small oak panel prepared with a white chalk ground and a roughly applied brown priming.
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Details
- Title: Constantius appoints Constantine as his successor
- Creator: Sir Peter Paul Rubens
- Date Created: 1622
- Physical Dimensions: 37.6 x 30.2 x 0.5 cm panel; 61.5 x 53.4 x 9.5 cm frame
- Provenance: French royal tapestry works of Saint-Marcel, post 1622, France, With the rest of the set: painted for the French royal tapestry works of Saint-Marcel, 1622; listed at the Saint-Marcel works in 1627; remained there under the directorship of Marc de Comans (d. 1644) and subsequently of Hippolyte de Comans (who became director in 1651); Henri de Valois (1603-1673) or Adrien de Valois (1607-1692) Philippe, duc d'Orléans, pre 1723, France Philippe-Joseph ('Egalité'), duc d'Orléans, pre 1792, France, by descent, sold to Thomas Moore Slade 1792 Thomas Moore Slade, 1792, England, Purchased by Thomas Moore Slade in association with the 7th Baron Kinnaird (1754-1805), W. Morland and Thomas Hammersley. Thomas Hammersley, 1792-1812?, London/England, Thomas Hammersley, his and others' (anon.) sale, Christie's London 6-7 March 1801, lot no. 76 'Constantine receiving the globe and cross', bought in, 67gn. Hammersley and others' (anon.) sale, Coxe, London, 11 June 1808, lot no. 9 'An allegorical representation of Constantine receiving under the influence of the cross, authority over the Earth and Ocean', bought in, 95gn. Henry Brooksbank, 1828, England, by 1828, lent to the 1828 British Institution exhibition Stamp Brooksbank, pre 31 May 1834, England, presumably by descent, Governor of the Bank of England 1741-43, his (and others') sale, Stanley, London 31 May 1834, lot no. 89 'The interview between Constantine and his son Crispus'. Henry Pelham-Clinton, 7th Duke of Newcastle, 14th Earl of Lincoln, pre 1928, England Francis Pelham-Clinton-Hope, 8th Duke of Newcastle, 15th Earl of Lincoln, 1928-04 Jun 1937, England, by descent, sold Christie London, 4 June 1937, lot no. 90, purchased by Agnew's jointly with Buttery and Clark, £280 Agnew's, London, 04 Jun 1937-17 Feb 1940, London/England, Purchased at Christie London 4 June 1937, lot no. 90, jointly owned by Agnew's with Buttery and Clark. Agnew's 1/3 share was sold to Buttery on 17 February 1940, when presumably Buttery had a buyer. Horace Buttery, London, 17 Feb 1940, London/England, [dealer] H.E.M. Benn, post 17 Feb 1940-Dec 1979, Ilkley/Haslemere/Surrey/England, Purchased by Benn from Buttery 1940, sold to Agnew's, December 1979 Agnew's, London, Dec 1979-30 Jul 1981, London/England, Sold to James Fairfax, 30 July 1981. Agnew's stock no. 43546. James Oswald Fairfax AC, 30 Jul 1981-31 Aug 1993, Bowral/New South Wales/Australia, Gift of James Fairfax 1993. Purchased by James Fairfax from Agnew's 1981.
- Type: Painting
- Rights: Gift of James Fairfax AC 1993
- Medium: oil on panel
- Signature & Date: Not signed. Not dated.
- Artist Country: Flanders
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