Catalogue-2014-Jean-Luc-Baroni

2. Jacob Matham, Diana, The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
chalk and dated 1602 (fig.2), is probably later, as the handling
of the chalk is softer and more refined, and does not show the
Italian influence clearly discernible in the present sheet.
Matham was inspired by, and made frequent copies of, the work
of Italian artists of the earlier 16th century, and he seems to have
been drawn in particular to the work of the Mannerist painters.
While in Rome, he produced a number of reproductive engravings
after the work of Mannerist artists active in the city - notably
Francesco Salviati, Cavaliere d’Arpino, and Taddeo and
Federico Zuccaro - although these were for the most part published
after his return to Antwerp 4 . While the present sheet is
too free to be a copy of an earlier work, the distinct influence of
such Roman painters is clearly evident.
Dr. Léna Widerkehr has confirmed the attribution of this drawing
to Jacob Matham, and further notes that it is among the earliest
known drawings by the artist, probably executed while he was
in Italy between 1593 and 1597.
In an article of 1999, Herwarth Röttgen published the present
drawings and noted that it showed the particular influence of
the draughtsmanship of Cavaliere d’Arpino 5 , an artist who was
also in Rome when Matham visited the city. This would seem
to confirm Dr Widerkehr’s dating of this drawing and actually
provide an even more precise dating of the drawing to the artist
stay in the Eternal City, before returning to his native city.
110
actual size detail