RUBENS (1577-1640)
See also : Ancient painting Ancient drawing Flemish art Old Flanders and Belgium Groups Christianity Madonna and Child Early still life
Chronology : 17th century 1610-1619
Chronology : 17th century 1610-1619
Salomé
2023 for sale on January 26 by Sotheby's
waiting for catalogue
En janvier prochain, Sotheby’s mettra en vente à New York, la collection Fisch Davidson incluant un chef-d'œuvre de Rubens,
— Sotheby's France (@SothebysFr) October 25, 2022
´Salomé présentant la tête de Saint Jean Baptisté, estimé 25 à 35 millions $. pic.twitter.com/xBpuQKDGKO
1603-1606 Oil Sketch of a Beauty
2020 SOLD for £ 4M including premium
On July 29 in London, Christie's sells an oil on canvas 86 x 66 cm by Rubens, lot 8 estimated £ 4M. I narrated it previously before it passed at Sotheby's on December 9, 2009, from the same owner and with the same lower estimate.
It is a work from the training period of Rubens when he was based in Mantua but travelled extensively in Italy and once in Spain. He was at some time approached by the duke of Mantua for participating to a Gallery of (female) Beauties.
It is the mid-length portrait of a young lady, near life size. The face and hands are completed and their quality shows that it was made by the master. The painting was abandoned before the costume and ruff are finished, and the background is not even started.
The canvas was originally stretched instead of being framed, which confirms that the work is a sketch. Indeed its unfinished condition gives valuable information on the creative process of Rubens.
It was probably taken from life. The speed of the brush provides the spontaneity of a drawing. The terminus post quem seems to be his diplomatic trip to Spain in 1603 when he could study the royal collection of paintings by Titian. Indeed the fiddling of the hand with a chain and the determined chin provide an instantaneous view of deep psychological insight.
The artist was keen to observe the clothing fashion. The costume and the ruff may be Spanish. The terminus ante quem is around 1606 when women went to prefer small curls instead of the tall hairdressing of that picture. There is no evidence of a finished painting after the sketch.
It is a work from the training period of Rubens when he was based in Mantua but travelled extensively in Italy and once in Spain. He was at some time approached by the duke of Mantua for participating to a Gallery of (female) Beauties.
It is the mid-length portrait of a young lady, near life size. The face and hands are completed and their quality shows that it was made by the master. The painting was abandoned before the costume and ruff are finished, and the background is not even started.
The canvas was originally stretched instead of being framed, which confirms that the work is a sketch. Indeed its unfinished condition gives valuable information on the creative process of Rubens.
It was probably taken from life. The speed of the brush provides the spontaneity of a drawing. The terminus post quem seems to be his diplomatic trip to Spain in 1603 when he could study the royal collection of paintings by Titian. Indeed the fiddling of the hand with a chain and the determined chin provide an instantaneous view of deep psychological insight.
The artist was keen to observe the clothing fashion. The costume and the ruff may be Spanish. The terminus ante quem is around 1606 when women went to prefer small curls instead of the tall hairdressing of that picture. There is no evidence of a finished painting after the sketch.
Christie’s Sells Mysterious Rubens, Once Barred From Foreign Purchase in U.K., for $5 M. https://t.co/R0upzOH8oO
— Art Market Monitor (@artmarket) July 29, 2020
1609 Rubens back from Italy
2014 SOLD 3.2 M£ including premium
Rubens left for Italy in 1600, aged 23. During the eight years of his journey, he assimilates all art trends.
He came back to Antwerp for family reasons, but political circumstances were particularly favorable for the start of his business. In April 1609, the Antwerp treaty is ending the war between Spain and the United Provinces. In July, Rubens is appointed court painter to the Archduke.
The burgomaster Nicolaas Rockox had assigned two important public commissions to Rubens, for the town hall and the cathedral, and ordered him for his private residence a scene of Samson and Delilah.
On July 10 in London, Christie's sells the only known preparation drawing for the Samson and Delilah of the mayor. This brown drawing in ink and wash, 16 x 16 cm, is estimated £ 1.5 M.
Before starting the job for the painting, Rubens was testing in the drawing the emotions of the tragic group of four characters: the giant, the wife, the barber and the maid. The analysis of this sketch invited him to increase the dramatic tension when he made the modello and the final painting on panel, in which the group is tighter and the main characters more personalized and more erotic.
The Samson by Rubens, as also his Holofernes in the same period, is strongly influenced by the too muscular male bodies by Michelangelo. The twist of the body is baroque, and the lighting of the scene with candles shows that Rubens also appreciated the modernism of Caravaggio.
POST SALE COMMENT
This drawing revealing the creative process of Rubens was sold for £ 3.2 million including premium.
He came back to Antwerp for family reasons, but political circumstances were particularly favorable for the start of his business. In April 1609, the Antwerp treaty is ending the war between Spain and the United Provinces. In July, Rubens is appointed court painter to the Archduke.
The burgomaster Nicolaas Rockox had assigned two important public commissions to Rubens, for the town hall and the cathedral, and ordered him for his private residence a scene of Samson and Delilah.
On July 10 in London, Christie's sells the only known preparation drawing for the Samson and Delilah of the mayor. This brown drawing in ink and wash, 16 x 16 cm, is estimated £ 1.5 M.
Before starting the job for the painting, Rubens was testing in the drawing the emotions of the tragic group of four characters: the giant, the wife, the barber and the maid. The analysis of this sketch invited him to increase the dramatic tension when he made the modello and the final painting on panel, in which the group is tighter and the main characters more personalized and more erotic.
The Samson by Rubens, as also his Holofernes in the same period, is strongly influenced by the too muscular male bodies by Michelangelo. The twist of the body is baroque, and the lighting of the scene with candles shows that Rubens also appreciated the modernism of Caravaggio.
POST SALE COMMENT
This drawing revealing the creative process of Rubens was sold for £ 3.2 million including premium.
1610 The Massacre of the Innocents by Rubens
2002 SOLD for £ 50M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
When Rubens returned to Antwerp in November 1608, he brought with him the new Baroque trends in Italian art. He exercises his art for the very important commissions from the churches of Antwerp finally liberated from the wars of religion, and also for private clients.
Highly influenced by the art of Caravaggio at that time, Rubens shows heavily emotional scenes, with dynamic and complex compositions, violent lights, bodies twisted by hatred or despair. He uses skinned figures as models for his scary naked soldiers.
Two paintings made for private use at the beginning of this new phase entered together in 1702 in the collection of the princes of Liechtenstein. After a loss of traceability in the inventories of the Liechtenstein collection, the two artworks were later attributed to an assistant from the end of career of Rubens named Jan van den Hoecke.
Samson et Delilah is an oil on wood 185 x 205 cm originally painted for the collection of the Lord Mayor of Antwerp. The theme of the colossus neutralized by the ingenuity of women, staged at the fatal moment, may be compared with the Judith of Caravaggio. The original version was authenticated in 1929 and sold by Christie's on July 11, 1980 for £ 2.53M including premium.
The Massacre of the Innocents (De kindermoord te Bethlehem) was known by a copy kept in Brussels. The version attributed to van den Hoecke is brought for sale to Sotheby's. Comparing this 142 x 182 cm oil on wood with the Samson and Delilah, the expert of the auction house recognizes that he has in his hands the real original by Rubens.
This reattribution is convincing. The Massacre of the Innocents is sold for £ 50M including premium by Sotheby's on July 10, 2002 over a lower estimate of £ 4M. Here is the link to the pre sale press release. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1610 is considered as the most likely year for the creation of this artwork. The background of the image does not show Bethlehem but the temple of Castor and Pollux, proving that Rubens was still dazzled by the beauties of Rome. It has been also considered as a reminiscence from the atrocities of the religious wars. It is undoubtedly a masterpiece by Rubens, in a near perfect condition.
Highly influenced by the art of Caravaggio at that time, Rubens shows heavily emotional scenes, with dynamic and complex compositions, violent lights, bodies twisted by hatred or despair. He uses skinned figures as models for his scary naked soldiers.
Two paintings made for private use at the beginning of this new phase entered together in 1702 in the collection of the princes of Liechtenstein. After a loss of traceability in the inventories of the Liechtenstein collection, the two artworks were later attributed to an assistant from the end of career of Rubens named Jan van den Hoecke.
Samson et Delilah is an oil on wood 185 x 205 cm originally painted for the collection of the Lord Mayor of Antwerp. The theme of the colossus neutralized by the ingenuity of women, staged at the fatal moment, may be compared with the Judith of Caravaggio. The original version was authenticated in 1929 and sold by Christie's on July 11, 1980 for £ 2.53M including premium.
The Massacre of the Innocents (De kindermoord te Bethlehem) was known by a copy kept in Brussels. The version attributed to van den Hoecke is brought for sale to Sotheby's. Comparing this 142 x 182 cm oil on wood with the Samson and Delilah, the expert of the auction house recognizes that he has in his hands the real original by Rubens.
This reattribution is convincing. The Massacre of the Innocents is sold for £ 50M including premium by Sotheby's on July 10, 2002 over a lower estimate of £ 4M. Here is the link to the pre sale press release. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1610 is considered as the most likely year for the creation of this artwork. The background of the image does not show Bethlehem but the temple of Castor and Pollux, proving that Rubens was still dazzled by the beauties of Rome. It has been also considered as a reminiscence from the atrocities of the religious wars. It is undoubtedly a masterpiece by Rubens, in a near perfect condition.
_De_kindermoord_te_Bethlehem_-_Rubenshuis_Antwerpen_27-09-2018.jpg)
1610 The Weight of the Cross
2019 SOLD for $ 8.2M including premium
Informed that his mother is dying, Rubens rushes back to Antwerp at the end of 1608. The ongoing peace negotiations in The Hague, accompanied by cease-fire, bring great hope to Flanders, and the artist will not come back to Italy.
The truce of Antwerp, signed in April 1609, puts an end to warfare for twelve years but religious tensions remain. The St. Walburga's church in Antwerp commissions to Rubens for its altar a monumental triptych on the theme of the elevation of the cross, conducive to distinguish the Catholic dogma from the Protestant.
This triptych prepared in 1610 is a masterpiece of baroque art. The soldiers who raise the cross are facing a superhuman weight that proves the real presence of Christ. The diagonal composition of the central panel and the dazzling chiaroscuro are inspired by Caravaggio's style. The almost nude or armored soldiers who handle the cross are strong men for whom Rubens remembers the Laocoon and Hercules Farnese, of which he had made drawings in Rome.
The painting is positioned in height above 19 steps. He finishes in 1611 in situ this work, 4.60 x 6.40 m overall in open position, which will be later transferred to the cathedral of Antwerp.
On January 30 in New York, Sotheby's sells a large drawing 49 x 32 cm made in preparation to the Elevation of the Cross, lot 15estimated $ 2.5M. Both right corners were cut for an undetermined reason, perhaps by the artist himself.
This drawing shows a soldier raising his arm to push the cross. He is naked while he will have an armor in the painting. In accordance with the practice of the Italian Renaissance, the study of the nude makes it possible to avoid anatomical errors in the painting of attitudes.
It was prepared by the artist to compare in a single drawing two possible positions of the left leg, more or less bent. The closer position is more convincing to express the effort. Rubens draws a stronger line on this version that he will use in the final work.
The truce of Antwerp, signed in April 1609, puts an end to warfare for twelve years but religious tensions remain. The St. Walburga's church in Antwerp commissions to Rubens for its altar a monumental triptych on the theme of the elevation of the cross, conducive to distinguish the Catholic dogma from the Protestant.
This triptych prepared in 1610 is a masterpiece of baroque art. The soldiers who raise the cross are facing a superhuman weight that proves the real presence of Christ. The diagonal composition of the central panel and the dazzling chiaroscuro are inspired by Caravaggio's style. The almost nude or armored soldiers who handle the cross are strong men for whom Rubens remembers the Laocoon and Hercules Farnese, of which he had made drawings in Rome.
The painting is positioned in height above 19 steps. He finishes in 1611 in situ this work, 4.60 x 6.40 m overall in open position, which will be later transferred to the cathedral of Antwerp.
On January 30 in New York, Sotheby's sells a large drawing 49 x 32 cm made in preparation to the Elevation of the Cross, lot 15estimated $ 2.5M. Both right corners were cut for an undetermined reason, perhaps by the artist himself.
This drawing shows a soldier raising his arm to push the cross. He is naked while he will have an armor in the painting. In accordance with the practice of the Italian Renaissance, the study of the nude makes it possible to avoid anatomical errors in the painting of attitudes.
It was prepared by the artist to compare in a single drawing two possible positions of the left leg, more or less bent. The closer position is more convincing to express the effort. Rubens draws a stronger line on this version that he will use in the final work.
A signed drawing by Peter Paul #Rubens, which has been part of the Dutch royal family's collection for almost 200 years, is heading to auction this month at @Sothebys: https://t.co/IrHn2O9WmZ pic.twitter.com/b1uZbA1rud
— Barnebys.co.uk (@Barnebysuk) January 11, 2019
1611-1614 The Family Circle
2020 SOLD for $ 7.1M including premium
Peter Paul Rubens is back in Antwerp in 1608 after spending eight years in Italy. By a happy coincidence, the peace between Spain and the United Provinces is signed a few weeks later. He receives commissions for monumental altar pieces for the cathedral of Antwerp. He opens a large workshop and his business becomes highly successful.
His family life also changes. The death of his mother had been the pretext for his return. He marries in 1609 and is now surrounded by newborns : his daughter Clara Serena born in 1611 as well as the two children of his older brother Philip, Clara born in 1610 and Philip born in 1611. The death of the brother in 1611 brings his two babies closer to the artist's family circle.
The theme of the meeting of the Holy Family with St John the Baptist and his mother appears in his work at that time. Imagined in a Franciscan homily, this group is frequent in Italian iconography and was notably painted by Raphael around 1518.
The action is not unique : the artist expresses with vivacity his family surrounding, symbol of the future. The two babies are exuberant when they play with the dove while the lamb has a soothing effect.
On January 29 in New York, Sotheby's sells a Madonna and Child with St Elizabeth, St John and the lamb, oil on panel 122 x 96 cm. This version is probably the first in this model, and a date between 1611 and 1614 is confirmed by dendrochronology. The children are undoubtedly pictured at their real age on the date of creation of the work.
This painting is estimated $ 6M, lot 19. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The absence of St Joseph allows an original and dynamic composition where the four heads form a circle. The Infant Jesus looks at his mother with an expression of intense admiration. In a slightly larger replica, the Mother's clothing modestly hides the tip of her breast. The engraving executed in the 1620s at the artist's request for protecting his copyright mingles the two versions.
His family life also changes. The death of his mother had been the pretext for his return. He marries in 1609 and is now surrounded by newborns : his daughter Clara Serena born in 1611 as well as the two children of his older brother Philip, Clara born in 1610 and Philip born in 1611. The death of the brother in 1611 brings his two babies closer to the artist's family circle.
The theme of the meeting of the Holy Family with St John the Baptist and his mother appears in his work at that time. Imagined in a Franciscan homily, this group is frequent in Italian iconography and was notably painted by Raphael around 1518.
The action is not unique : the artist expresses with vivacity his family surrounding, symbol of the future. The two babies are exuberant when they play with the dove while the lamb has a soothing effect.
On January 29 in New York, Sotheby's sells a Madonna and Child with St Elizabeth, St John and the lamb, oil on panel 122 x 96 cm. This version is probably the first in this model, and a date between 1611 and 1614 is confirmed by dendrochronology. The children are undoubtedly pictured at their real age on the date of creation of the work.
This painting is estimated $ 6M, lot 19. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The absence of St Joseph allows an original and dynamic composition where the four heads form a circle. The Infant Jesus looks at his mother with an expression of intense admiration. In a slightly larger replica, the Mother's clothing modestly hides the tip of her breast. The engraving executed in the 1620s at the artist's request for protecting his copyright mingles the two versions.
#AuctionUpdate: Recently rediscovered, this powerful depiction of The Virgin and Christ Child with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist by Sir Peter Paul Rubens realizes $7.1 million in #NYC pic.twitter.com/gxEJlff32n
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) January 29, 2020
1612-1614 Rubens inspired by Titian
2010 SOLD 9 M£ including premium
On July 6 in London, Christie's is selling the portrait of a commander by Rubens, estimated 8 million pounds. The character is not named, and he can be considered as allegorical. He wears a heavy armor, a model that is more reminiscent of the late Renaissance in the previous century.
Represented in three quarter length, the man embodies the power of an officer who goes into battle. He pays little attention to two young pages busy adjusting his equipment. The press release with an illustration of this painting is shared by AuctionPublicity.
This oil on panel, 123 x 98 cm, made around 1612 to 1614, looks like a Titian by the quality of its composition and also the liveliness of its animation.
Rubens had visited Italy between 1600 and 1608 to study the great masters, and had fallen under the spell of the work of his Venetian predecessor. He could not ignore the room of the Caesars in the Palace in Mantua, where were gathered twelve portraits by Titian of men in armor. Another military allegory of Rubens, seeming close to this Titian series that disappeared in a fire in 1734, was sold £ 4.4 million including premium by Sotheby's on July 10, 2002.
The image is shared on Wikimedia.
Represented in three quarter length, the man embodies the power of an officer who goes into battle. He pays little attention to two young pages busy adjusting his equipment. The press release with an illustration of this painting is shared by AuctionPublicity.
This oil on panel, 123 x 98 cm, made around 1612 to 1614, looks like a Titian by the quality of its composition and also the liveliness of its animation.
Rubens had visited Italy between 1600 and 1608 to study the great masters, and had fallen under the spell of the work of his Venetian predecessor. He could not ignore the room of the Caesars in the Palace in Mantua, where were gathered twelve portraits by Titian of men in armor. Another military allegory of Rubens, seeming close to this Titian series that disappeared in a fire in 1734, was sold £ 4.4 million including premium by Sotheby's on July 10, 2002.
The image is shared on Wikimedia.
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1614 Rubens in front of Sodom
2016 SOLD for £ 45M including premium
Peter Paul Rubens was able to achieve the dream of the greatest artists : assimilating the art of his predecessors and going further. He came back from Italy in 1608 and settled in Antwerp, the city of his childhood. Peace has returned and the time is conducive to art. Aristocratic and religious commissions flow.
In Italy, Rubens had admired Titian. In the north, he sees the increasingly risqué themes by Goltzius and Wtewael. Taboos fall : Bible and mythology offer erotic stories through moral excuses.
On July 7 in London, Christie's sells as lot 12 Lot and his daughters, oil on canvas 190 x 225 cm painted by Rubens circa 1614. This painting is a rediscovery : it had not been seen since a failed attempt of sale in 1904 and 1905 and its re-inspection pushes it among the masterpieces of the artist.
Rubens offers here a three character scene of high psychological complexity. In 1608, François de Sales judged that the story of Lot was not an incest but a forgivable sin. Lot is a nice old drunkard, like Noah.
In his great compositions from this phase of his career, Rubens wisely mixes nude and clothing. Although the bare flesh is the main target of the work, such a mingled attire brings presence and actuality to his antique theme. Samson and Delilah, the Massacre of the Innocents and the Drunken Silenus are other famous examples.
The abundant flesh is processed in an impasto that allows subtle variations of light and texture and promotes the sensual effect despite the advanced age of the man. Lot and his daughters remained in excellent condition in which only an aging varnish may be slightly blamed.
The artist had carefully read the Genesis : the two women were not made pregnant in the same day and only one is naked, ready but also worrying for the act. Her sister is closer to the father, with the charming smile of a woman who is achieving her conspiracy. The attitude and indeed the splendidly haggard gaze of the man express his full intoxication that encourages the nude girl to pour the wine once again. The Silenus will reuse similar characters in 1616.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
In Italy, Rubens had admired Titian. In the north, he sees the increasingly risqué themes by Goltzius and Wtewael. Taboos fall : Bible and mythology offer erotic stories through moral excuses.
On July 7 in London, Christie's sells as lot 12 Lot and his daughters, oil on canvas 190 x 225 cm painted by Rubens circa 1614. This painting is a rediscovery : it had not been seen since a failed attempt of sale in 1904 and 1905 and its re-inspection pushes it among the masterpieces of the artist.
Rubens offers here a three character scene of high psychological complexity. In 1608, François de Sales judged that the story of Lot was not an incest but a forgivable sin. Lot is a nice old drunkard, like Noah.
In his great compositions from this phase of his career, Rubens wisely mixes nude and clothing. Although the bare flesh is the main target of the work, such a mingled attire brings presence and actuality to his antique theme. Samson and Delilah, the Massacre of the Innocents and the Drunken Silenus are other famous examples.
The abundant flesh is processed in an impasto that allows subtle variations of light and texture and promotes the sensual effect despite the advanced age of the man. Lot and his daughters remained in excellent condition in which only an aging varnish may be slightly blamed.
The artist had carefully read the Genesis : the two women were not made pregnant in the same day and only one is naked, ready but also worrying for the act. Her sister is closer to the father, with the charming smile of a woman who is achieving her conspiracy. The attitude and indeed the splendidly haggard gaze of the man express his full intoxication that encourages the nude girl to pour the wine once again. The Silenus will reuse similar characters in 1616.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1620 The Jovial Conspiracies of Isabella Brant
2018 SOLD for $ 5.7M including premium
On April 19 in New York, Christie's sells an oil painting 105 x 76 cm by Rubens on the theme of a satyr holding a basket of grapes and quinces with a nymph at his side, dated around 1620 by the auction house. It is estimated $ 5M, lot 41.
The bearded satyr is in the prime of his life, with two thin horns on his forehead and pointed ears. The nymph is ready to grab a grape in the basket. The two characters do not look at each other but have the same jovial smile.
They are featured in other compositions of the same period. In a lost painting known through copies, the same nymph is naked under a transparent veil. Interestingly they are linked with two group scenes, Bacchanal and Drunken Silenus, both of which are disgusting images intended to make viewers aware of the consequences of debauchery.
The Bacchanal, 95 x 107 cm, is traditionally dated around 1615 and kept at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Our satyr is on the left, nude and drunk, supported with difficulty by a naked satyress with legs and hooves of a goat.
The Drunken Silenus is traditionally dated between 1616 and 1617. The surviving version 212 x 214 cm kept at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich is one of Rubens' most famous masterpieces. Around the staggering satyr, all the other characters at the top of the picture are laughing. Another version was destroyed in Berlin in 1945.
In Drunken Silenus the woman just behind the satyr emits a happy look of connivance towards the spectator as if it was she who had abused the weakness of the old male with grape and wine. She had the same role as the central figure in Lot and his daughters painted in 1614 who is busy to drunk her father. It is not a coincidence that the faces of these young women are similar : they are certainly portraits of the ever smiling Isabella Brant, the wife of Rubens.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
The bearded satyr is in the prime of his life, with two thin horns on his forehead and pointed ears. The nymph is ready to grab a grape in the basket. The two characters do not look at each other but have the same jovial smile.
They are featured in other compositions of the same period. In a lost painting known through copies, the same nymph is naked under a transparent veil. Interestingly they are linked with two group scenes, Bacchanal and Drunken Silenus, both of which are disgusting images intended to make viewers aware of the consequences of debauchery.
The Bacchanal, 95 x 107 cm, is traditionally dated around 1615 and kept at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Our satyr is on the left, nude and drunk, supported with difficulty by a naked satyress with legs and hooves of a goat.
The Drunken Silenus is traditionally dated between 1616 and 1617. The surviving version 212 x 214 cm kept at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich is one of Rubens' most famous masterpieces. Around the staggering satyr, all the other characters at the top of the picture are laughing. Another version was destroyed in Berlin in 1945.
In Drunken Silenus the woman just behind the satyr emits a happy look of connivance towards the spectator as if it was she who had abused the weakness of the old male with grape and wine. She had the same role as the central figure in Lot and his daughters painted in 1614 who is busy to drunk her father. It is not a coincidence that the faces of these young women are similar : they are certainly portraits of the ever smiling Isabella Brant, the wife of Rubens.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
1625 The Fingers of the Demoiselles
2020 SOLD for £ 3M including premium
Peter Paul Rubens was very busy in 1622. He carried out diplomatic missions for the King of Spain and came to Paris to discuss with the queen mother Marie de Médicis a fabulous contract for a series of allegorical groups for the use of the Luxembourg Palace.
In the same year, he painted a seductive portrait of Queen Anne d'Autriche, aged 21. Since his training in Italy 20 years earlier, Rubens was an excellent portrait painter who knew how to express the psychology of young women.
Immaculate hands are an ostentatious sign of nobility. Queen Anne is seated with her hands on her knees. The barely bent fingers form a flesh-colored counterpoint in the luxurious black garment. At the same time, Rubens painted several portraits of his beloved wife Isabella with various positions of the hands.
The portrait of a "damoiselle" (according to the wording of the time), oil on canvas 110 x 82 cm, was certainly painted around 1625, before the death of Isabella in the plague of 1626. The details of the clothing are consistent with that date.
The unidentified young Lady is standing in front of a large red curtain. The hands resting one over the other highlight the elegance of the fingers. She is richly dressed without being a queen : she does not have the ruff of Anne d'Autriche. In both works, the light brown hair is sprinkled with imperceptible yellow lines that give volume to the curls. The oval shape of the face brings a resemblance to Isabella, but without the ever ironic expression of the artist's wife.
This painting was recognized until the beginning of the 20th century as an authentic Rubens, but it was then buried for a century in the family of its owner. It surfaced in 2017 in a North Yorkshire auction room. The provenance was identified but its dirt made it offered as a simple workshop piece. It was sold for £ 78K.
The buyer brought it to Sotheby's. The painting is now clean. Pentimenti were found by infra-red inspection, confirming it as an original work by Rubens. In accordance with the practice of the master, a participation of the workshop in areas of lesser importance is not excluded. It is estimated £ 2.5M for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 28, lot 43.
The tweet shows a detail of the image.
In the same year, he painted a seductive portrait of Queen Anne d'Autriche, aged 21. Since his training in Italy 20 years earlier, Rubens was an excellent portrait painter who knew how to express the psychology of young women.
Immaculate hands are an ostentatious sign of nobility. Queen Anne is seated with her hands on her knees. The barely bent fingers form a flesh-colored counterpoint in the luxurious black garment. At the same time, Rubens painted several portraits of his beloved wife Isabella with various positions of the hands.
The portrait of a "damoiselle" (according to the wording of the time), oil on canvas 110 x 82 cm, was certainly painted around 1625, before the death of Isabella in the plague of 1626. The details of the clothing are consistent with that date.
The unidentified young Lady is standing in front of a large red curtain. The hands resting one over the other highlight the elegance of the fingers. She is richly dressed without being a queen : she does not have the ruff of Anne d'Autriche. In both works, the light brown hair is sprinkled with imperceptible yellow lines that give volume to the curls. The oval shape of the face brings a resemblance to Isabella, but without the ever ironic expression of the artist's wife.
This painting was recognized until the beginning of the 20th century as an authentic Rubens, but it was then buried for a century in the family of its owner. It surfaced in 2017 in a North Yorkshire auction room. The provenance was identified but its dirt made it offered as a simple workshop piece. It was sold for £ 78K.
The buyer brought it to Sotheby's. The painting is now clean. Pentimenti were found by infra-red inspection, confirming it as an original work by Rubens. In accordance with the practice of the master, a participation of the workshop in areas of lesser importance is not excluded. It is estimated £ 2.5M for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 28, lot 43.
The tweet shows a detail of the image.
100 years of dirt and old varnish were removed from an artwork to reveal an authentic Peter Paul #Rubens.
— Barnebys.co.uk (@Barnebysuk) July 11, 2020
Now the work is heading to #auction with an estimate of £2.5-3.5 #million.
Learn more:
1626 Nymph and Satyr in Antwerp
2015 SOLD for $ 3.1M including premium
From the time of the illuminators, Flemish artists were image makers who used to practice some collaboration between their workshops. Jan Brueghel the elder is firmly established in Antwerp and manages many cooperations including with Joos de Momper and Hendrick van Balen.
At the top of his fame, Peter Paul Rubens does not hesitate to practice this duet art. Fascinated by the human body, he perhaps has no more time to execute himself the picture of the landscape where his characters will appear.
Rubens and Brueghel realized together mythological, biblical and allegorical paintings. When Jan dies of cholera in 1625, his son Jan the younger aged 24 comes to operate his business and complete the orders. He changes the spelling of his name to Breughel, presumably to differentiate his signature from his father.
On April 22 in New York, Sotheby's sells an oil on panel 58 x 95 cm by Rubens and Breughel, lot 30 estimated $ 3M. This work on the subject of Pan and Syrinx in a landscape is not signed but the process of its creation has been described.
The panel is monogrammed by the guild of panel-makers of Antwerp and by Michiel Vriendt, the carpenter who was a supplier to Rubens. The master painted at an unidentified date the truculent god who grabs the half naked nymph. The panel was then transferred to Brueghel with the commission to add the marshy landscape where Syrinx will soon be transformed into a reed to escape the satyr, according to Ovid.
Dating it to 1626 is plausible. The theme had been used in a closer scene by Rubens and the late Jan Brueghel. The register of the younger Breughel for that year includes a painting for which he states that the figures of Pan and Syrinx had been made by Rubens.
At the top of his fame, Peter Paul Rubens does not hesitate to practice this duet art. Fascinated by the human body, he perhaps has no more time to execute himself the picture of the landscape where his characters will appear.
Rubens and Brueghel realized together mythological, biblical and allegorical paintings. When Jan dies of cholera in 1625, his son Jan the younger aged 24 comes to operate his business and complete the orders. He changes the spelling of his name to Breughel, presumably to differentiate his signature from his father.
On April 22 in New York, Sotheby's sells an oil on panel 58 x 95 cm by Rubens and Breughel, lot 30 estimated $ 3M. This work on the subject of Pan and Syrinx in a landscape is not signed but the process of its creation has been described.
The panel is monogrammed by the guild of panel-makers of Antwerp and by Michiel Vriendt, the carpenter who was a supplier to Rubens. The master painted at an unidentified date the truculent god who grabs the half naked nymph. The panel was then transferred to Brueghel with the commission to add the marshy landscape where Syrinx will soon be transformed into a reed to escape the satyr, according to Ovid.
Dating it to 1626 is plausible. The theme had been used in a closer scene by Rubens and the late Jan Brueghel. The register of the younger Breughel for that year includes a painting for which he states that the figures of Pan and Syrinx had been made by Rubens.
