The Return of the Spies

This drawing loosely replicates the composition of Autumn, one of Poussin's canvases for the Four Seasons now in the Louvre. The four paintings were among Poussin's last works and took over four years to complete (1660-64). Autumn depicts emissaries of Moses carrying grapes, pomegranates, and figs to advertise the bounty of the Promised Land. Details of the painted landscape are not found in the drawing, and the drawing lacks some background figures, including the washerwoman found in the painting. These discrepancies indicate that the drawing is not a faithful copy of the painting, but more likely a pastiche, as suggested by Rosenberg and Prat, who date it to the late seventeenth century.