The Animals Going Toward the Ark
- Date
- 1650–55
- Material
- Etching
- Classification
- Prints
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- image: 8 in. x 15 13/16 in. (20.3 x 40.2 cm)
sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 8 in. x 15 13/16 in. (20.3 x 40.2 cm)
mount: 10 1/16 x 16 3/8 in. (25.6 x 41.6 cm) - Credit Line
- The Sidney S. and Sadie Cohen Print Purchase Fund
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 64:2000
NOTES
The long life of the biblical patriarch Noah is the subject of several works by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, including this etching that shows Noah and the ark he built according to precise instructions from God. Only Noah’s lineage, safe in the ark along with breeding pairs of all animal species, was spared destruction in the coming Deluge. Because Castiglione specialized in depictions of animals and pastoral scenes, it is no surprise that his riotous animals should crowd the composition to overflowing. Noah waits in the (seemingly miniscule) ark, while his three sons accompany the unruly beasts galloping in his direction.
Castiglione is arguably best known for his innovative print and drawing techniques. The agitated scribbling marks that cover the plate in varying densities confirm that he was aware of the etchings by his Dutch counterpart, Rembrandt van Rijn, which were already circulating in Italy. His talent was to draw subtle variations of light and shade out of this tangled web of etched lines.
Provenance
Princes of Liechtenstein [1]
- 2000
Kunsthandlung Helmut H. Rumbler, Frankfurt, Germany
2000 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Kunsthandlung Helmut H. Rumbler [2]
Note:
[1] The note on the invoice, dated June 5, 2000, states that the support sheet itself indicates that it is from the Liechtenstein collection [SLAM document files]. According to the biography on the British Museum website, "Liechtenstein is the generic term used for any works that come from the family collection of the Austrian Princes Liechtenstein. Prints are laid down on a typical thick card backing sheet with burnished verso. The collection is now dispersed....a residue of 10,000 sheets was purchased by the Frankfurt dealer Helmut Rumbler in 1982." [https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/, date accessed June 13, 2012, copy in SLAM document files].
[2] see note [1] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes, September 6, 2000.
- 2000
Kunsthandlung Helmut H. Rumbler, Frankfurt, Germany
2000 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Kunsthandlung Helmut H. Rumbler [2]
Note:
[1] The note on the invoice, dated June 5, 2000, states that the support sheet itself indicates that it is from the Liechtenstein collection [SLAM document files]. According to the biography on the British Museum website, "Liechtenstein is the generic term used for any works that come from the family collection of the Austrian Princes Liechtenstein. Prints are laid down on a typical thick card backing sheet with burnished verso. The collection is now dispersed....a residue of 10,000 sheets was purchased by the Frankfurt dealer Helmut Rumbler in 1982." [https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/, date accessed June 13, 2012, copy in SLAM document files].
[2] see note [1] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes, September 6, 2000.
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