Album of Drawings for Dante's "Divine Comedy", c. 1793

Not on View

Medium

bound volume with 78 drawings in pen and ink and graphite

Dimensions

sheet: 42.5 × 30.4 cm (16 3/4 × 11 15/16 in.)
book: 43.8 × 32.5 × 3.4 cm (17 1/4 × 12 13/16 × 1 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Rosenwald Collection

Accession Number

1943.3.3734

Artists / Makers

John Flaxman (artist) British, 1755 - 1826

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Inscription

In pencil inside front flyleaf: J. Flaxman left his drawings to his niece Miss / Denman. On her death they came to her nephew, Mr. Denman, and were o ffered for / sale by him at Christie's in 1862: when / these drawings were bought by Mr. Bale / May 1862 / F. T. Palgrave

Provenance

By descent to the artist's niece, Miss Denman [1]; by descent to her nephew, Mr. Denman; (sale, Christie's, London, May 1862); Charles Sackville Bale [1791-1880], London (Lugt 640); (his sale, Christie's, London, 16 May 1881, lot 382); (Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd.). Walter Henry James [1846-1923], Betteshanger, England. (Raphael King, Ltd., London); Lessing J. Rosenwald, 1940; gift to the NGA, 1943.

[1] It is possible that the album passed by descent to the artist's sister-in-law, Maria Denman, referred to as Miss Denman. Flaxman left Maria Denman many of his works upon his death.

Associated Names

Agnew & Sons, Ltd., Thomas
Bale, Charles Sackville
Christie, Manson & Woods, Ltd.
James, Walter Henry
Raphael King Ltd.
Rosenwald, Lessing Julius

Exhibition History

2023: Going through Hell: The Divine Dante, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2023.

Bibliography

2004: Salvador, Francesca. La divina commedia illustrata da Flaxman. Milan, 2004.