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Rubens drawing emerges from Reading University store cupboard Rubens drawing emerges from Reading University store cupboard
(4 months later)
There are Peter Paul Rubens drawings of Marie de' Medici, the queen of France, in the collections of the British Museum, the V&A, the Louvre and, it emerged Tuesday, to some astonishment, the University of Reading.There are Peter Paul Rubens drawings of Marie de' Medici, the queen of France, in the collections of the British Museum, the V&A, the Louvre and, it emerged Tuesday, to some astonishment, the University of Reading.
Reading's picture of Marie de' Medici, the second wife of Henry IV of France, was almost certainly done "on the spot, from life", and probably drawn in 1622. For decades it had been stored at the university in a locked cupboard.Reading's picture of Marie de' Medici, the second wife of Henry IV of France, was almost certainly done "on the spot, from life", and probably drawn in 1622. For decades it had been stored at the university in a locked cupboard.
"It was very exciting indeed," said Anna Gruetzner Robins, a professor at the university. "A Rubens in the cupboard! It is not what you expect to find.""It was very exciting indeed," said Anna Gruetzner Robins, a professor at the university. "A Rubens in the cupboard! It is not what you expect to find."
The drawing was bought in the 1950s by Reading's professor of fine art who had a modest budget to buy drawings to use for teaching purposes.The drawing was bought in the 1950s by Reading's professor of fine art who had a modest budget to buy drawings to use for teaching purposes.
"It was bought as a so-called Rubens, attributed to Rubens," said Robins. "But we didn't take it seriously.""It was bought as a so-called Rubens, attributed to Rubens," said Robins. "But we didn't take it seriously."
The professor was spending sums of about £5 and £10. "Even in those days you didn't really buy Rubens drawings for £5 so we always assumed that it was a copy or by someone in his circle."The professor was spending sums of about £5 and £10. "Even in those days you didn't really buy Rubens drawings for £5 so we always assumed that it was a copy or by someone in his circle."
The drawing's true identity was revealed when a benefactor recently agreed to pay for its conservation, revealing a hidden collector's stamp of some importance; it showed that the work was owned in the 18th century by Jonathan Richardson, one of the first collectors of Rubens drawings in the UK.The drawing's true identity was revealed when a benefactor recently agreed to pay for its conservation, revealing a hidden collector's stamp of some importance; it showed that the work was owned in the 18th century by Jonathan Richardson, one of the first collectors of Rubens drawings in the UK.
Further investigation showed that the drawing was then owned by the Oxford collector Henry Wellesly, an illegitimate son of the Duke of Wellington.Further investigation showed that the drawing was then owned by the Oxford collector Henry Wellesly, an illegitimate son of the Duke of Wellington.
Robins said of the picture: "It has a very nice immediate quality about it that makes it rather special."Robins said of the picture: "It has a very nice immediate quality about it that makes it rather special."
The work, said to be worth about £75,000, is a welcome addition to the four known Rubens drawings of Marie in existence and held in large collections. All of those are studies made for the 21 life-size portraits of Marie, depicting her from childhood to old age, which hang in the Louvre.The work, said to be worth about £75,000, is a welcome addition to the four known Rubens drawings of Marie in existence and held in large collections. All of those are studies made for the 21 life-size portraits of Marie, depicting her from childhood to old age, which hang in the Louvre.
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