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20-05-2026
José del Castillo

Madrid (Spain), 1737 - Madrid (Spain), 1793

See author's file

David and Abigail

Second half of the XVIII century. White chalk, Red chalk on laid paper.
Not on display

On a hill to the left of the composition, David is depicted in armour and is surrounded by his soldiers. He receives Abigail, who kneels before him in the centre of the composition. In the midground to the right, the servants unload sacks of provisions.

As the inscription indicates, this is a composition by Giordano. It must have been in the Buen Retiro Palace, but has not reached the Museum, as the canvas of this subject that is in the Museo del Prado collection (P166) and that is also a copy of Castillo’s work represents a different composition. Until 1808, the Buen Retiro Palace had a very important series of works by Giordano, so abundant that travellers did not specify them individually. This composition, like that of Miriam (D680), is probably one of the great sacred stories, allegorical subjects and others that Ponz mentions in the grand courtroom.

Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso Emilio, Museo del Prado Catálogo de Dibujos T. III. Dibujos Españoles, Siglo XVIII C-Z, Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1977, p.26

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Technical data

Imagen del carrusel
Imagen del carrusel
Imagen del carrusel
Inventory number
D000679
Author
José del Castillo
Title
David and Abigail
Date
Second half of the XVIII century
Technique
White chalk; Red chalk
Support
Laid paper
Dimension
Height: 310 mm; Width: 480 mm
Provenance
Royal Collection

Bibliography +

Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso Emilio, Museo del Prado Catálogo de Dibujos T. III. Dibujos Españoles, Siglo XVIII C-Z, Museo del Prado, Madrid, 1977, pp. 26.

Agüero, Cristina, New attributions and identifications for drawings by José del Castillo, Master drawings, LII, 2014, pp. 497-512 [502 f.12].

Úbeda de los Cobos, Andrés, Luca Giordano at the Museo Nacional del Prado, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2017, pp. o.r P166 pg.176.

Úbeda de los Cobos, Andrés, Luca Giordano en el Museo Nacional del Prado: catálogo razonado, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2017, pp. o.r P166,pg.176 (copia José del Castillo).

Filigree +

Motive: Letras "IV"

Imagen de la bibliografia

16 x 26 mm
Contramarca
26 mm.
Letras "IV"
La contramarca “IV” es característica de fabricantes de papel que trabajaron para el mercado holandés durante los siglos XVII y XVIII, como los Gerrevink, Honig, Rogge o Van der Ley entre otros, además de acompañar a la conocida marca de agua “Pro Patria” (Mayberger et al. 2011, pp. 67-69). En origen estas letras se referían a las iniciales de Jean Villedary —fundador de la famosa saga de papeleros franceses Villedary, que trabajaron para el mercado holandés desde 1668 hasta 1812— pero debido a su uso por diversos fabricantes relacionados con el mercado holandés a lo largo de varios siglos, la contramarca “IV” pasó a ser un distintivo de la calidad del papel, más que una firma concreta.

Imagen de la bibliografia

Bibliography
Heawood, Edward, Watermarks, mainly of the 17th and 18th centuries, Paper Publications Society, Hilversum (Holland), 1950, pp. n. 78 [1603], n. 106 [1747], n. 157 [1675], n. 420 [1724-26], n. 461 [1713], n. 1532 [h. 1740], n. 1537 [1686], n. 1540 [1743], n. 1843 [1775], et al..
Churchill, William Algernon, Watermarks in paper, in Holland, England, France, etc., in the XVII and XVIII centuries and their interconnection, B. De Graaf, Nieuwkoop, 1985, pp. n. 24 [1686], n. 48 [1720], n. 133 [1713], n. 137 [1769], n. 139 [1763], n. 155 [1753], n. 406 [1733], n. 408 [1760], n. 410 [1760], n. 425 [1683], n. 434 [s. XVIII], n. 437 [1722].
Matilla, J. M., Mena. M. (dir), Francisco de Goya (1746-1828): Dibujos. Catálogo razonado, Fundación Botín. Museo Nacional del Prado, 2018, pp. 344-345.

Other inventories +

Inv. Dibujos, Fondo Antiguo. Núm. 390.

Inscriptions +

Dirección del Museo Nacional de Pinturas
Blue ink stamp. Front, lower central area

Jordan en el Retiro
Inscribed in pen and ink. Front, lower left area

F.A. 390
Inscribed in pencil. Front, lower left area

MP [anagrama con las iníciales del Museo del Prado dentro de un escudo]
Blue ink stamp. Front, Lower right area

Castillo Dibub.
Inscribed in pen and ink. Front, Lower right area

Legajo 7 / No 17
Inscribed in pencil. Front, upper area

Update date: 20-05-2026 | Registry created on 06-10-2015

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