Adoration of the Magi, after Rubens

Description

In his Adoration of the Magi after Rubens, Eugène Delacroix gathers figures in faint pencil lines around a lightly indicated Virgin and Child. The larger group rises behind them, with the kings receiving more sustained attention than the Holy Family. The sheet preserves a concentrated investigation of the earlier composition, making relationships between people its principal subject.

Made around 1830, the graphite drawing follows an engraving’s reversed orientation rather than simply copying the painting as it was seen. Delacroix’s use of a reproductive print connects his study with another artist’s interpretation of Rubens. He concentrates on the arrangement and variety of the figures, allowing lighter indications to hold the rest of the scene together. The drawing makes copying an active process of selection, preserving a particular encounter with a richly populated religious design.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Eugène Delacroix collection.