Rinaldo and Armida
Artist
After Anthony van Dyck
(Flemish, 1599 - 1641)
CultureFlemish
Dateca. 1627
MediumPen | Ink | Paper
DimensionsOverall: 9 7/8 x 13 1/2 in. (25.1 x 34.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.458
Not on view
Label TextAnthony van Dyck
Flemish (1599-1641)
Rinaldo and Armida, ca. 1627
Pen and brown ink on blue paper
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.458
Among the many narratives included in Torquarto Tasso's epic poem Gerusalemme Liberata (Jerusalem Delivered) is the love story of the Christian knight Rinaldo and the sorceress Armida. Lulled by the singing of a river nymph, Rinaldo fell asleep on the banks of the river Orontes. He was discovered there by Armida, who at first planned to kill him. But she was so taken by his beauty that she fell in love with him instead. She "wiped…his fair cheek" with a veil, tied him with garlands of flowers, and abducted him to her palace on the Fortunate Isles.
In this drawing Van Dyck depicts the moment of discovery and infatuation, as Armida gently pulls the veil across the sleeping hero's face. The drawing probably served as a study for a lost painting of Rinaldo and Armida by Van Dyck.
ProvenanceSir Peter Lely, London (1617-80)(?); Sir John Charles Robinson, London (d. 1913); Charles Fairfax Murray, London (d. 1919); R. Ederheimer, NYC; Sale Anderson Galleries, New York City, Nov. 6-7, 1924, no. 208; Victor Koch, London; Oskar Klein, Central Picture Galleries, NYC; Walter P. Chrsyler, Jr., 1956; The Chrysler Museum, 1971.
Exhibition History"Van Dyck Tentoonstelling," Antwerp, 1899. (Exhib. cat. no. 121).
"Exhibition of Works by Van Dyck," Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1900. (Exhib. cat. no. 183).
"One Hundred Drawings in The Chrysler Museum at Norfolk", Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, March 2 - May 6, 1979. (Exhib. cat. no. 39).
"The Touch of Genius: Master Drawings from Norfolk Collections", The Chrysler Museum, Seaboard Center, Norfolk, VA, August 25 - October 10, 1986.
"Master Drawings from the Chrysler Museum," Small Changing Gallery, The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, February 26 - April 23, 1989.
"Special Exhibition," Prints and Drawings Gallery, The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, Fall 1989.
"Flemish Drawings in the Age of Rubens: Selected Works from American Collections", Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, October 15 - November 28, 1993; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, January 4 - February 20, 1994.
"Grand Designs: Preliminary Drawings and Oil Sketches from The Chrysler Museum," Prints and Drawings Gallery, The Chrysler Museum, April 2 - June 22, 1994.
"Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006.
Published ReferencesEric M. Zafran. _One Hundred Drawings in the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk_. Norfolk, VA: 1979, No. 39, p. 20; b/w ill.
Anne-Marie Logan. _Flemish Drawings in the Age of Rubens: Selected Works from American Collections_. Wellesley, MA: Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College. Distributed by University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, 1993, Color plate no. 13; Cat. no. 13, 148-149. ISBN: 0295973161
Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 90, fig. 107. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1
Pair/Pair
