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Decius Mus Consulting the Soothsayers (The Interpretation of the Victim)
Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640)
Title
Decius Mus Consulting the Soothsayers (The Interpretation of the Victim)
Workshop of
Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640)
Date
1617–18
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
28 3/4 × 42 1/2 in. (73 × 108 cm)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Object Number
1946.127
On View
On view
Provenance
Lady Victoria Sackville-West (1892–1962), Knole House, Kent [1].
Marczell von Nemes (1886–1930), Budapest and Munich;
Purchased from Marczell von Nemes by A. S. Drey, Munich, by 1931;
A. S. Drey (est. c. 1864), Munich [2].
Fritz Thyssen (1873–1951), Muelheim, Germany and Lugano, Switzerland.
Mrs. Elizabeth Stern (1903–1999), Hamburg and New Haven, Connecticut, by 1940.
With Schaeffer Galleries, New York, by July 25, 1946;
Purchased from Schaeffer Galleries, through Harold Woodbury Parsons, by Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, 1946.
[1] For a comprehensive summary of the issues in tracing the panel’s earlier provenance see: Erik Larsen, “Apropos Some Rubens’ Sketches,” Pantheon 39 (1981): 315–16.
[2] The art firm of A.S. Drey in Munich was founded in the 1860s by Aaron S. Drey (1813–1891).
Marczell von Nemes (1886–1930), Budapest and Munich;
Purchased from Marczell von Nemes by A. S. Drey, Munich, by 1931;
A. S. Drey (est. c. 1864), Munich [2].
Fritz Thyssen (1873–1951), Muelheim, Germany and Lugano, Switzerland.
Mrs. Elizabeth Stern (1903–1999), Hamburg and New Haven, Connecticut, by 1940.
With Schaeffer Galleries, New York, by July 25, 1946;
Purchased from Schaeffer Galleries, through Harold Woodbury Parsons, by Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, 1946.
[1] For a comprehensive summary of the issues in tracing the panel’s earlier provenance see: Erik Larsen, “Apropos Some Rubens’ Sketches,” Pantheon 39 (1981): 315–16.
[2] The art firm of A.S. Drey in Munich was founded in the 1860s by Aaron S. Drey (1813–1891).
Exhibition History
Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Paintings by European Masters, Art Gallery of Toronto, February 1936, no. 14.
Esquisses de Rubens, Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 1937, no. 61.
Esquisses de Rubens, Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 1937, no. 61.
Published References
A. L. Mayer, “Zum malerischen Werk des Rubens,” Zeitschrift fur Bildende Kunst (1922): 117, (repro.).
Leo van Puyvelde, translated by Eveline Winkworth, The Sketches of Rubens (London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1947), 26.
Jan-Albert Goris, “Inventory of Belgian (Flemish) Art in American Collections” (unpublished inventory for Belgian Government Information Center, Belgium and Belgian Congo, c. 1952).
Philip Gurney, “Art Only One Item in Rubens’ Versatile Career,” Dundee and West Omaha Sun, October 13, 1960, 52, (repro.).
“Civilisation,” Omaha World-Herald, March 28, 1971, (repro.)
Micheline Moisan, The History of Decius Mus by Peter Paul Rubens. PhD diss., Princeton University, 1975.
John D. Morse, Old Master Paintings in North America: Over 3000 Masterpieces by 50 Great Artists (New York: Abbeville Press, 1979), 244.
Julius S. Held, The Oil Sketches of Peter Paul Rubens: A Critical Catalogue vol. 1 (Princeton, NJ: Published for the National Gallery of Art by Princeton University Press, 1980), 27.
Erik Larsen, “Apropos Some Rubens’ Sketches,” Pantheon 39 (1981): 315, (repro.).
Holliday T. Day and Hollister Sturges, eds., Joslyn Art Museum: Paintings & Sculpture from the European & American Collections (Omaha: Joslyn Art Museum, 1987), 42–44, (repro.).
Taylor J. Acosta, European Paintings and Sculpture from Joslyn Art Museum (Omaha: Joslyn Art Museum, 2020), 70–71, (repro.).
Leo van Puyvelde, translated by Eveline Winkworth, The Sketches of Rubens (London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1947), 26.
Jan-Albert Goris, “Inventory of Belgian (Flemish) Art in American Collections” (unpublished inventory for Belgian Government Information Center, Belgium and Belgian Congo, c. 1952).
Philip Gurney, “Art Only One Item in Rubens’ Versatile Career,” Dundee and West Omaha Sun, October 13, 1960, 52, (repro.).
“Civilisation,” Omaha World-Herald, March 28, 1971, (repro.)
Micheline Moisan, The History of Decius Mus by Peter Paul Rubens. PhD diss., Princeton University, 1975.
John D. Morse, Old Master Paintings in North America: Over 3000 Masterpieces by 50 Great Artists (New York: Abbeville Press, 1979), 244.
Julius S. Held, The Oil Sketches of Peter Paul Rubens: A Critical Catalogue vol. 1 (Princeton, NJ: Published for the National Gallery of Art by Princeton University Press, 1980), 27.
Erik Larsen, “Apropos Some Rubens’ Sketches,” Pantheon 39 (1981): 315, (repro.).
Holliday T. Day and Hollister Sturges, eds., Joslyn Art Museum: Paintings & Sculpture from the European & American Collections (Omaha: Joslyn Art Museum, 1987), 42–44, (repro.).
Taylor J. Acosta, European Paintings and Sculpture from Joslyn Art Museum (Omaha: Joslyn Art Museum, 2020), 70–71, (repro.).
