The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

A Faun Grasping a Bunch of Grapes

after 1616–18

studio of Peter Paul Rubens

(Flemish, 1577–1640)
Flanders
black chalk and brush and brown wash; framing lines in pen and black ink
Sheet: 37.8 x 26.2 cm (14 7/8 x 10 5/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1943.341
Location: 101A Prints & Drawings

Did You Know?

Swirling draperies like the one haphazardly worn by this faun do more than conceal, in many cases they reveal an artist's technical skill. To render folds and gathers in fabric, artists used chiaroscuro, meaning contrasting light and dark tones.

Description

This drawing relates to a finished painting (now lost) by Peter Paul Rubens that depicted a faun (a woodland creature similar to a satyr) squeezing grapes into the mouth of a young Bacchus. That figure, shown here, could be Silenus, who educated Bacchus on the pleasures of wine, revelry, and nature. Rubens ran a large studio and employed numerous apprentices, one of whom may have made this copy after the original painting. As a form of instruction, Rubens added ink wash to the drawing to enhance the shading on the figure and shadows behind it.
  • Unidentified collector's mark, grey stamp "C", verso (not in Lugt)
    Valerius Röver (1686-1739), Delft (Lugt 2984a-c), album 6, no. 14
    1739-1761
    his widow, Delft
    1761
    with Hendrik de Leth
    1761
    Johann Goll van Franckenstein (1722-1785) and his son (1750-1821), Amsterdam
    -1926
    Emile Wauters, Brussels (Lugt 911, lower right, in black ink)
    1926
    [his sale Frederick Muller & Co., Amsterdam, 15-16 June 1926, lot 172]
    1926-1936
    Henry Oppenheimer, London (Lugt 1351, not stamped);
    1936
    [his sale, Christie's, London, 10, 13-14 July 1936, lot 305, cat. by K.T. Parker]
    1942
    Mr. and Mrs. David Birnbaum, New York
    1943
    with Mortimer Brandt Gallery, New York
    1943-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH, USA
  • Francis, Henry. "A Drawing by Rubens." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 31, no. 4 (April 1944
    ): 48-50. Mentioned: p. 49 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 584 archive.org
  • In Vino Veritas (In Wine, Truth). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 7, 2025-January 11, 2026).
    National Schools of Style. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 14-September 18, 1983).
    Bicentenary Exhibition. Christie's, London, London (organizer) (January 2-27, 1967).
    Old Master Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 29, 1966-February 28, 1967).
    Prints and Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 6-September 9, 1965).
    Drawings: France, Italy, Netherlands. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 1-March 24, 1965).
    Old Master Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 10-31, 1964).
    Department of Prints and Drawings Opening Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (March 3, 1958-October 11, 1959).
    Exhibition of the Month: Ways of Drawing Nudes. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 30-June 6, 1945).
  • {{cite web|title=A Faun Grasping a Bunch of Grapes|url=false|author=Peter Paul Rubens|year=after 1616–18|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1943.341