Christoffel Jegher 1596-1652/3
Hercules destroying Envy
Woodcut, c.1633, after a design by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
Bequeathed by the Rev. R. E. Kerrich 1873

Jegher worked for the Plantin Press in Antwerp, where he collaborated with Rubens on a dozen woodcuts in the early 1630s. This design was adapted from Rubens' preparatory painting for an oval canvas decorating the ceiling of the Banqueting House in Whitehall, London. Rubens made drawings for Jegher to work from, and he indicated adjustments on proofs taken from the block. The composition became taller during the independent development of the woodcut, raising the winged putto above Hercules' shoulder; the putto was omitted entirely from the painting finally installed in the Banqueting House.