Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

The Return of the Spies

After Nicolas Poussin
1594?-1665

The Return of the Spies

after 1664
8 1/8 x 12 13/16 inches (207 x 325 mm)
Pen and black ink and wash on paper.
III, 72

Purchased by Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) in 1909.

Notes
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.
Inscriptions/Markings
Inscribed on verso, "Painted in Poussin's Best Manner. T'is in the Gallery of the Louvre/ R.jun/J Y".
Associated names
Richardson, Jonathan, 1665-1745, former owner.
Richardson, Jonathan, 1694-1771, former owner.
Russell, William, 1800-1884, former owner.
Murray, Charles Fairfax, 1849-1919, former owner.
Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, former owner.
Bibliography
Collection J. Pierpont Morgan : Drawings by the Old Masters Formed by C. Fairfax Murray. London : Privately printed, 1905-1912, III, 72, repr.
Rosenberg, Pierre and Louis-Antoine Prat, "Nicolas Poussin, 1594-1665. Catalogue raisonné des dessins", 2 volumes, Milan, 1994, II, no. R661, repr.
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Department