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1 of 253523 objects
The Sacrifice of Noah c. 1655-60
Red-brown and blue-grey oil paint on paper | 35.0 x 26.4 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 903952
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A drawing of Noah, standing at an altar with his arms raised to the left as six figures kneel around him. God the Father, flanked by two angels, appears above them. The drawing probably represents Noah’s sacrifice of thanksgiving after the waters of the Flood had receded (and there are the right number of figures), but the rainbow usually depicted is not to be seen. The composition was frequently repeated, with variations, by Castiglione and his circle. It is based on a composition by Poussin known from the engraving by Johannes Jakob Frey. A pen sketch for the woman on the right in this drawing, and in RCIN 903853, is in the Ashmolean, Oxford. A painting in a private collection, Genoa, said to be dated 1659, is also related to the composition.
Provenance
Probably Carlo II and Fernandino-Carlo Gonzaga, 9th and 10th Dukes of Mantua; Zaccaria Sagredo; from whose heirs purchased by Joseph Smith, British Consul in Venice, 1752; from whom purchased by George III, 1762
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Medium and techniques
Red-brown and blue-grey oil paint on paper
Measurements
35.0 x 26.4 cm (sheet of paper)
Object type(s)