sketches

Day two hundred and three: My sketch today is based on an artwork that was based on an artwork. Confused? Abraham Blootling made four engraved prints of lions around 1665 for a series titled Variae Leonum Icones. Each sheet pictures two lions originally designed by Peter Paul Rubens. I’ve found six of them so far — including the one I sketched here — in Ruben’s painting of Daniel in the Lion’s Den on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. If you click the link to find the lion’s face, you’ll notice that Blooteling’s engraving reverses the image, an effect inherent in the printing process unless the artist purposefully flips the design on the copper plate.