At
Giuzzetti-Collet in Reims, they sell a "Flemish School" "Sacrifice of Isaac" signed Rubens and dated 1620, estimated at 1,200 to 1,500 Euro. It looks indeed to be an "after Rubens", but not a Sacrifice of Isaac but a "Salomé and the head of John the Baptist".
Another version of the same work, "manner of Rubens", was sold at
Christie's Amsterdam in 2011 for 3,125 Euro. This version was slightly smaller and had completely different colors, so perhaps they both were copies after an engraving. This is confirmed by the lot notes of the Christie's version, which says that the (reversed) original is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
The original is not
described as a Salomé though, but as a "
Head of Cyrus Brought to Queen Tomyris". It is one of those brilliant huge Rubens' paintings, and both copies above pale dramatically in comparison. Then again, so does the price. The one for sale probably isn't worth more than the estimate though, but the subject identification makes it fun to discuss.
Thanks for the post, I wanted to share my thoughts, as I came across your post having the same confusion - does this composition depict Salome or Queen Tomyris?
ReplyDeleteThe reason I came across your post is because I was doing some research on a pair of paintings I have. The pair are 17th or 18th century and one is the composition that is the subject of your post - the Salome/Tomyris work by Rubens. The other painting, is by the same hand, in the same size, and in a composition that mirrors the Salome/Tomyris, making clear it is a pair. However, the other work unambiguously depicts St. John the Baptist - he is with his banner-wrapped cross, his fur clothing, and halo - and is before King Herod and Herodias. Given the Rubens Salome/Tomyris composition paired with this painting that depicts St. John, I read the composition in question as intending to depict Salome and not Tomyris.
My thinking is this: At an earlier time, the Rubens painting we now know as depicting Tomyris was mistakenly thought to depict Salome. After all, Salome receiving the head of Saint John the Baptist is a much more commonly depicted scene. At some later point, however, probably in the late 19th or 20th century, the true subject was uncovered by art historians. Hence, we now know that it does in fact depict Tomyris.
Mistaken identity is definitely not a stranger to art history. I know that the Rubens painting of Hygeia was mistakenly thought to depict Cleopatra for some time. And of course, the famous statue of Sleeping Ariadne, which was also mistaken as depicting Cleopatra for some centuries. I am sure that the Tomyris painting, given its obscure subject matter, was just believed to depict the far more famous subject of Salome for some time, hence the creation of my pair of paintings, for instance.
Great stuff. You may be interested to know that the Rubens original hung in a grand house in London in 1932 as shown here. https://collage.cityoflondon.gov.uk/quick-search?q=129978
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