God the Father supported by Angels, copied after Michelangelo's Creation of Adam

In Ruben's early years in Italy, crucial for the development of his art, his encounter with the power and vitality of Michelangelo's art helped to spark his imagination. When he returned to Antwerp in 1608 he brought back many study drawings after Michelangelo's painted and sculpted works; these formed the core of his large collection of copies, carefully kept in a chest in his studio, that acted as 'art reference material' for himself and his workshop apprentices, pupils and assistants to study and copy. This is one of those drawings.