A Plague Scene or an Image of Tobias’s Mercy? From Iconographic Studies on the Oeuvre of Alexandre Ubeleski
Barbara Hryszko
barbara.hryszko@ignatianum.edu.plIgnatianum University in Cracow (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1894-5454
Abstract
The study of form, genre and iconography has made it possible to identify the hitherto obscure subject of Alexandre Ubeleski’s drawing showing a dramatic scene with figures lying on the ground. The plague theme, previously applied in its context, was ruled out and the biblical theme of Tobias’s act of burying the slain has been confirmed. The discovery of the model for the drawing: an engraving by Sébastien Bourdon, permitted to date Ubeleski’s sketch to around 1683 and to recognise the content motifs of the image by setting it in the historical context of 17th-century art. In drawing the sketch, Ubeleski emphasised the emotions of the figures, whose gestures and facial expressions have been interpreted based on the models of Charles Le Brun and John Bulwer. The draughtsman’s emphasis on the close relationship between the old man and the youngster made it possible to interpret the scene as a joint action between the two Tobiases, father and son. This depiction of the young Tobias, which is unique in the iconography of this subject, opens up a space for reflection on an attempt to interpret the content of this fascinating drawing.
Keywords:
French Academic art of the 17th century, Alexandre Ubeleski, Sébastien Bourdon, Nicolas Poussin, Charles Le Brun, John Bulwer, iconography, Tobias Burying the Dead in Nineveh, plague, the puer senex – senex iuvenis toposReferences
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Authors
Barbara Hryszkobarbara.hryszko@ignatianum.edu.pl
Ignatianum University in Cracow Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1894-5454
Barbara Hryszko gained her doctoral degree in Art History at the Institute of Art History of the Jagiellonian University. Her research focuses on the history of early modern art, French painting, Academic art and iconography. She is the author of the monographic study Le Peintre du Roi. Aleksander Ubeleski (2016), as well as articles published in, among others, “Barok”, “Artibus et Historiae”, “Rocznik Historii Sztuki”, “Source. Notes in the History of Art”, “Folia Historiae Artium”, “Il Capitale Culturale. Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage”, “Early Modern French Studies”, “French History” and “Intersections” (Brill).
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