Drawing thumbnail 1
Request to view

This object can be requested via email from the Prints & Drawings Study Room

Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Drawing

16th - 17th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Mola, Pier Francesco (artist)
Place of origin
Italy (drawn)

Sketch from Ovid's Metamorphoses (Book VIII., 747-748); Some Dryads with their hands joined dancing round an oak; "Saepe etiam manibus nexis ex ordine trunci circuiere modum."; Pen drawing.

Object details

Category
Drawings
Object type
Drawing
Materials and techniques
Pen drawing
Pen
Drawing
Brief description
Mola, Pier Francesco (ascribed to); Sketch from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' (Book VIII., 747-748); Some Dryads, with their hands joined, dancing round an oak; Pen drawing; Bolognese School; 16th - 17th century.
Physical description
Sketch from Ovid's Metamorphoses (Book VIII., 747-748); Some Dryads with their hands joined dancing round an oak; "Saepe etiam manibus nexis ex ordine trunci circuiere modum."; Pen drawing.
Dimensions
  • Height: 4.8in
  • Width: 6.2in
Original measurements converted from fractional inches into decimal inches (rounded to one decimal place). Dimensions taken from: DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London : South Kensington Museum, 1874.
Style
Bolognese School
Credit line
Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce
Object history
Collections - Jonathan Richardson, junior, and Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Subjects depicted
Dryads
Oak Tree
Literary referenceOvid's <i>Metamorphoses</i> (Book VIII., 747-748)
Bibliographic references
  • DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London : South Kensington Museum, 1874.
  • Ward-Jackson, Peter, Italian Drawings, Volume Two: 17th-18th Century , London, 1979, p.70 , cat. n. 770, illus. The following is the full text of the entry: MOLA, PIER FRANCESCO (1612-66) 770 The Grove of Ceres, with a faun climbing a tree and a band of dryads dancing round a tree in a ring Inscribed on the mount in ink 'Mola'; the same name also inscribed on the back, with six lines from Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book 8, beginning 'Stabat in his ingens annoso robore quercus ... '; underneath in the same hand 'Sk(2)' Pen and ink 4 7/8 x 6 1/4 (124 x 158) Dyce 320 PROVENANCE J. Richardson Jr (Lugt 2170); Sir J. Reynolds (Lugt 2364); Dyce Bequest 1869 LITERATURE Dyce Catalogue no. 230 (as 'anonymous, ascribed to Mola') The quotation from Ovid (Book 8, lines 74348) is taken from the story of Erysichthon who desecrated the grove of Ceres by cutting down a mighty oak, hung with votive tablets, round which the dryads used to dance in a ring. The artist may, in fact, have had these lines in mind.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
DYCE.320

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdSeptember 15, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1137101/drawing-mola-pier-francesco/
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest