ANTOINE DIEU | Study for the Martyrdom of the seven Maccabees brothers

Collection Jacques Petithory (1929-1992) ; 
Acquis auprès de ce dernier en 1981.

Rennes, 2012, n°52 (notice par François Marandet) ;
Sceaux, 2013 (sans catalogue)

P. Rosenberg, "Antoine Dieu as a Draughtsman", Master Drawings, vol. XVII, n°2, 1979, p.169, fig.46A, repr. ;
M. Paunet, Antoine Dieu, Mémoire de Maitrise de l'Ecole du Louvre, 2017, no. 9

Laid down on to a thin card backing which has in turn been hinged to a modern mount. There is evidence of light surface dirt throughout and some minor staining to the upper right corner. The combination of media remains fresh and vibrant throughout and the image strong. Sold unframed.
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The subject of this characteristically energetic sheet was taken by Dieu from Chapter 7 of the second book of The Maccabees, in which seven brothers and their mother were ordered by King Antiochos Epiphanes to renounce their Jewish faith, by eating pork. Each brother proudly refused, resulting in their subsequent torture and execution, as depicted in this violent but nonetheless highly accomplished drawing.

First published in 1979 by Pierre Rosenberg, who noted its proximity to an engraving by François Andriot after a lost painting by Dieu (Fig.1), the Adrien drawing is a fascinating and rare signed example of a preparatory compositional drawing which, although squared for transfer, shows how the artist, even at this late stage in the creative process, was still making changes to the positioning of certain figures. A particularly clear example of such a change can be seen in the central figure, who is portrayed suspended in front of the cauldron in the Adrien drawing, facing towards the viewer, his hands bound behind his back. The Andriot engraving, however, depicts the same figure swiveled around to reveal his severed hands, further emphasizing the sheer brutality of the torture being inflicted upon the seven brothers.

For a more extensive account of Dieu as a draughtsman see the article by Pierre Rosenberg (see Literature).