February 2002 - Nr. 2
Lost Rubens Drawings Discovered in Cologne
TWIG - Three lost drawings by the Flemish Old Master Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) have been discovered in Cologne. Art historians of the Wallraf-Richartz Museum announced the "spectacular" find on Wednesday (January 30). The folios were uncovered two years ago during preparations the museum was undertaking to move its graphic collection from a building near Cologne’s famed cathedral to a new nearby structure. According to Dr. Uwe Westfehling, director of the museum’s graphic collection, when the roughly 75,000 works were moved, "a mass of folios were found that were not registered in the museum’s catalogue." Intensive in-house research conducted since the discovery has convinced art experts that the findings are indeed Rubens’ work.
Westfehling says the works exhibit "a direct connection with other drawings attributed to Rubens, including those in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan and the Kupferstichkabinett collection in Dresden." Research has focused on stylistic trademarks of the artist and on verifying the watermark of the paper used for the drawing. The watermark, a man carrying a walking staff, is thought to be the clearest evidence that the work is by Rubens. "There are recognized original works [of Rubens] on such paper manufactured in Italy in 1598," a researcher at the museum said. The Wallraf-Richartz will convene a symposium of international art experts in Cologne to confirm the attribution and will not assign a monetary value to the works until that time.
Rubens sketched copiously during a stay in Italy between 1600 and 1608. Like other artists of his day, he drafted studies of antique sculptures in Rome. The newfound works depict two themes from classical mythology: a Laocooen grouping, showing a priest and his sons being killed by two sea serpents, and two views of a centaur. Olaf Mextorf, an art historian at the museum, said, "These are large folios that were likely used in [painted] works of Rubens." An exhibit of these and other drawings called "ZeichnungSehen" (Seeing Drawings) will open at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum on March 14.
