(Florence 1610-1664) Graves in the valley of Jehoshaphat, pen and brown ink, grey wash, over black chalk, on laid paper, laid down, 23,2 x 43,8 cm, mounted, unframed, (Sch)

Provenance:
Thomas Tomkins, London (Lugt 2460).

Stefano della Bella tried to connect two prophecies of the Old Testament in one depiction in the present drawing: the vision of Saint Ezechiel, who foresaw the resurrection of the dead and the one of Joel, who prophesied, that the day of the Last Judgement will take place in the valley of Johoshaphat. The valley whose name means „God’s judges“ is depicted as a sad and remote desert. The ground is covered by bones, skulls, and cadavers while the deatch are resurrecting. In the vision of Joel sun and moon are extinguishing each other: this event is depicted in the centre of the drawing where two spheres overlap in the way of an eclipse. The present study may have been a first draft intended to be executed in an etching at a later moment. Imilarities in style point to preliminary drawings for etching from the series "Le cinque morti" (De Vesme 87-91) and "La morte sul campo di battaglia" (De Veme 93). In these drawings the artist used also wide perspectives, deep horizons and where he distinguished the figures from their background just by simple lines and soft washes. The present sheet may have been executed at the same time when these drawings were made between 1646-48.