Drawings Unrelated to Known Compositions

This volume is an oddity in the Corpus Rubenianum. Rather than being devoted to one particular project, or category of subject, it presents what at first sight might appear a miscellany of drawings. The works discussed here are indeed united only in the circumstance that they have proved difficult to associate directly with any particular painting or project undertaken by Rubens - and, for the most part, they remain so. Many of these 'unrelated' sheets have been relegated to the margins of Rubens scholarship as a result of their ambiguous status, whether because of uncertainties regarding their attribution, their subject-matter or their function (or all three). Given the nature of the drawings catalogued here, many of which resist iconographic classification, the decision has been made to order the items chronologically, so that they can be seen at least in relation to Rubens's stylistic development. The present publication is essentially a compilation based on the current state of research on individual items. At the same time it introduces new perspectives on, and suggests a few solutions to, some old problems, as well as shedding light on aspects of Rubens's work that have been largely, and sometimes unjustly, overlooked.