of Julius Caesar_ by Mantegna (the large cartoons now at Hampton Court
Palace), that he made a free copy of one of them. His love for the
fantastic and pompous led him to choose that with the elephants carrying
the candelabra; but his ardent imagination, ever directed to the
dramatic, could not be contented with this. Instead of a harmless sheep,
which, in Mantegna, is walking by the side of the foremost elephant,
Rubens has introduced a lion and a lioness, which growl angrily at the
elephant. The latter is looking furiously round, and is on the point of
striking the lion a blow with his trunk."
That Rubens should have been so specially attracted by Mantegna may seem
a little surprising, until we remember that both were lovers and
students of classical antiquities--a fact that is often forgotten in
recalling only the principal achievements of either. But it is important
to know what sort of foundations underlie the most splendid erections if
we wish to understand how they came into existence and what their place
is in the history of the arts. A glance through Lempriere's _Dictionary_
may furnish a modern Academician with a subject for a popular
picture,--but that is stucco rather than foundation. The roots of tall
trees go deep. Rubens when he was in Rome studied the antiquities of the
place with the utmost diligence and zeal, as is evidenced by a book
published by his brother Philip in 1608.
It was in the autumn of this year that he received the news, when at
Genoa, of his mother's illness, which induced him to return to Antwerp
forthwith. On his arrival he found she had died before the messenger
had reached Genoa.
After four months of mourning he was ready to return to Flanders; his
sojourn of eight years in Italy had so far influenced him that he might
have remained there indefinitely had it not been for the Archduke and
the Infanta pressing him to remain at Brussels and attach himself to
their Court. Another circumstance may possibly have weighed with him;
for within a year we find him married to Elizabeth Brant, the daughter
of a magistrate of Antwerp, and it was not at Brussels, but at Antwerp,
that he took up his quarters. Here he proceeded to build a wonderful
house--said to have cost him 60,000 florins--after designs of his own in
the Italian style, which he filled with the treasures he had collected
in Italy.
Rubens's first pictures were nearly all of them religious subjects.
Before he went to Italy he had painted an _Adoration of the Kings_, a
_Holy Trinity_, and the _Dead Christ in the Arms of God the Father_,
which was engraved by Bolswert. When Vincenzio sent him to Rome to copy
pictures there for him, he found time to execute a commission which he
received from the Archduke Albert to paint three pictures for the Church
of Santa Croce di Gerusalamme, namely, the _Crowning with Thorns_, the
_Crucifixion_, and the _Finding of the Cross_. A year later--after
returning from a journey to Madrid--he painted the altar-piece for the
Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, in which the influence of Paul
Veronese is conspicuous. At Genoa, he painted the Circumcision and S.
Ignatius for the church of the Jesuits.
One of the first pictures which he painted on his return to Antwerp was
an altar-piece for the private chapel of the Archduke Albert, of the
Holy Family. This picture was so much admired that the members of the
fraternity of S. Ildefonso, at the head of which was the Archduke
Albert, commissioned him to paint an altar-piece for the Chapel of the
Order of S. James near Brussels. This picture, which is now at Vienna,
represents the Virgin enthroned, surrounded by four female saints,
putting the Cloak of the Order on the shoulders of S. Ildefonso. On the
wings are the portraits of the Archduke and Isabella, with their patron
saints.
Thus we find that, like the earliest painters in his own country as well
as in Italy, the beginning of Rubens's art was under the influence of
the Church. Further, we find that the most celebrated work of his
earlier period, the _Descent from the Cross_, in the cathedral at
Antwerp, was undertaken in circumstances which abundantly show how
thoroughly he was imbued with the principles of the religion he
professed. The story is that when preparing the foundations of his new
house he had unwittingly trespassed upon a piece of ground belonging to
the Company of Arquebusiers at Antwerp. A lawsuit was threatened, and
Rubens, with all the vivacity of his nature, prepared measures of
resistance. But when his friend Rockox, a lawyer, had proved him that he
was in the wrong, he immediately drew back, and offered to paint a
picture by way of compensation. The offer was accepted, and the
Arquebusiers asked for a representation of their patron, S. Christopher,
to be placed in his chapel in the cathedral. In the magnificent spirit
which always distinguished the man, he presented to his adversaries not
merely the figure of the great Saint, but an elaborate and significant
illustration of his name (Christ-bearer). Thus, in the centre, the
disciples are lifting the Saviour from the Cross; in the wings the
Visitation--S. Simeon with Christ in his arms, S. Christopher with
Christ on his shoulders, and an old hermit bearing a light.
Among the earlier examples of secular pictures one of the most famous is
the portrait of himself and his bride, which is now in the Munich
Gallery. This was painted in 1609, when Rubens was over thirty years
old.
In 1627 Rubens went to Madrid on a diplomatic errand, but still as a
painter, as we shall see when discussing his relations with Velasquez.
Towards the end of the year 1629 he was sent on another diplomatic
mission, this time to England. The choice of an ambassador could not
have fallen on anyone better calculated to suit the personal character
of Charles I., who was a passionate lover of art and easily captivated
by men of cultivated intellect and refined manners. Rubens therefore, in
whom the most admirable and attractive qualities were united to the
rarest genius as an artist, soon succeeded in winning the attention and
regard of the king. At Paris, too, Rubens had made friends with
Buckingham, who had purchased his whole collection of statues,
paintings, and other works of art for about ten thousand pounds.
It was during his stay in London that he painted the picture now in the
National Gallery, called _Peace and War_ (No. 46). This was intended as
an allegory representing the blessings of peace and the horrors of war,
which he presented to the king as a tangible recommendation of the
pacific measures which he had come to propose. After the dispersion of
the Royal Collection during the Commonwealth this picture was acquired
by the Doria family at Genoa, where it was called, oddly enough,
_Rubens's Family_. As a matter of fact the children are those of
Balthazar Gerbier. He also painted the _S. George and the Dragon_,
which is now at Windsor Castle, and made the sketches for the nine
pictures on the ceiling of the Banqueting Hall--now the United Service
Institution Museum--in Whitehall. It was on this occasion, too, that he
received the honour of knighthood from Charles I., who is said to have
presented him with his own sword.
In the following year, 1630, Rubens married his second wife, Helena
Fourment, who was only sixteen years old--he was now fifty-two or
fifty-three. She belonged to one of the richest and most respectable
families in Antwerp, and was by no means unworthy of the compliment of
being painted in the character of the Virgin receiving instruction from
S. Anne, in the picture which is still at Antwerp.
In 1633 his painting was again interrupted by a diplomatic mission, this
time to Holland; and his remaining years were subject to more
distressing interruptions, from the gout, to which he finally succumbed
in 1640.
When we come to consider the English School of painting we shall see how
much of its revival in the middle of the eighteenth century was due to
the personality as well as to the genius of Sir Joshua Reynolds. In the
Netherlands, likewise, it was not merely a great painter that was
required to raise the art to life, but a great personality as well; and
to the influence of Rubens may be attributed much if not all of the
extraordinary fertility of the Flemish and Dutch Schools of the
seventeenth century. Making every allowance for the difference in the
times in which the Van Eycks and Rubens were working, there is no doubt
that the former lived in too rarefied an atmosphere ever to influence
their fellows, and with the exception of Hans Memling they left no
[Illustration: PLATE XXIV.--RUBENS
PORTRAIT OF HELENE FOURMENT, THE ARTIST'S SECOND WIFE, AND TWO CHILDREN
_Louvre, Paris_]
one worthy to carry on their tradition. Rubens showed his contemporaries
that art was a mistress who could be served in many ways that were yet
unthought of, and that she did not by any means disdain the tribute of
other than religious votaries. Beginning, as we have pointed out, with
sacred subjects, Rubens soon turned to the study of the classics, and
found in them not so much the classical severity that Mantegna had
sought for as the pagan spirit of fulness and freedom. "I am convinced
that to reach the highest perfection as a painter," he himself writes
"it is necessary, not only to be acquainted with the ancient statues,
but we must be inwardly imbued with the thorough comprehension of them.
An insight into the laws which pertain to them is necessary before they
can be turned to any real account in painting. This will prevent the
artist from transferring to the canvas that which in sculpture is
dependent on the material employed--marble, for instance. Many
inexperienced and indeed experienced painters do not distinguish the
material from the form which it expresses--the stone from the figure
which is carved in it; that which the artist forces from the dead
marble, from the universal laws of art which are independent of it.
"One leading rule may be laid down, that inasmuch as the best statues of
antiquity are of great value for the painter, the inferior ones are not
only worthless but mischievous: for while beginners fancy they can
perform wonders if they can borrow from these statues, and transfer
something hard, heavy, with sharp outlines and an exaggerated anatomy to
their canvas, this can only be done by outraging the truth of nature,
since instead of representing flesh with colours, they do but give
colour to marble.
"In studying even the best of the antique statues, the painter must
consider and avoid many things which are not connected with the art of
the sculptor, but solely with the material in which he worked. I may
mention particularly the difference in the shading. In nature, owing to
the transparency of the flesh, the skin, and the cartilages, the shading
of many parts is moderated, which in sculpture appear hard and abrupt,
for the shadows become doubled, as it were, owing to the natural and
unavoidable thickness of the stone. To this must be added that certain
less important parts which lie on the surface of the human body, as the
veins, folds of the skin, etc., which change their appearance with every
movement, and which owing to the pliancy of the skin become easily
extended or contracted, are not expressed at all in the works of
sculptors in general--though it is true that sculptors of high talent
have marked them in some degree. The painter, however, must never omit
to introduce them--with proper discretion.
"In the manner in which lights fall, too, statues are totally different
from nature; for the natural brilliancy of marble, and its own light,
throws out the surface far more strongly than in nature, and even
dazzles the eye."
I have quoted rather more of this passage (from Mrs Jameson's
translation) than I at first intended, because it discloses one of the
most important secrets of the successful painting of figures, by other
artists besides Rubens himself--George Romney for example. The
advantages of a "classical education" at our English public schools and
universities are questioned, and there can be no doubt that for the bulk
of the pupils they are questionable. But Rubens shows that the case is
exactly the same for painters studying classical art as for scholars
acquainting themselves with classical literature. A superficial study of
the antique, just because it is antique, is of no use at all, but rather
a hindrance. But if the study is properly undertaken, there is no surer
foundation, in art or literature, on which to build. It makes no
difference what is built; the foundation is there, beneath the surface,
and whatever is placed upon it will stand for all time.
The remarkable freedom and originality of Rubens's treatment of
classical subjects is thus accounted for. Under the surface is his
familiarity with the antique, but instead of carrying this above ground,
he builds on it a palace in accordance with the times and circumstances
in which he lived. The principles of classical art underlie the modern
structure. Among his numerous works of classical mythology the picture
at Munich of _Castor and Pollux_ carrying off the daughters of Leucippus
is worthy of being first mentioned. The Dioscuri mounted on spirited
steeds, one of which is wildly rearing, are in the act of capturing the
two damsels. The calm expression of strength in the male, and the
violent but fruitless resistance of the female figures, form a striking
contrast. Although the former are merely represented as two coarse and
powerful men, and the women have only common and rather redundant forms
and Flemish faces, yet the picture produces as a whole such a striking
effect, owing to the admirable manner in which the subject is conceived,
the power of imagination which it displays, and the exquisite colouring
and tone, that it would never occur to any unprejudiced spectator to
regret the absence of antique forms and character.
Two other pictures of this class are singled out for description by
Waagen as masterpieces. One is the _Rape of Proserpine_, at
Blenheim,--Pluto in his car, drawn by fiery brown steeds, is carrying
off the goddess, who is struggling in his arms. The other is the _Battle
of the Amazons_, in the Munich Gallery, which was painted by Rubens for
Van der Geest. With great judgment he has chosen the moment when the
Amazons are driven back by the Greeks over the river Thermodon: the
battle takes place upon a bridge, and thus the horror of the scene is
carried to the highest pitch.
Both in Flanders and in Italy Rubens had been brought into close contact
with all the magnificence and splendour which belonged to those gorgeous
times, and he delighted in representing the pomp of worldly state and
everything connected with it. Of all sacred subjects none afforded such
a rich field for display as the _Adoration of the Kings_; he has painted
this subject no less than twelve times, and his fancy appears quite
inexhaustible in the invention of the rich offerings of the eastern
sages. Among the subjects of a secular character the history of Marie
de'Medici, the triumph of the Emperor Charles V., and the Sultan at the
head of his Army, gave him abundant opportunities of portraying Oriental
and European pageantry, with rich arms and regalia, and all the pomp and
circumstance of war. Profusion--pouring forth of abundance, that was one
of Rubens's most salient characteristics. Exuberance, plenty, fatness.
As a painter of animals, again, Rubens opened out a new field for the
energy of his fellow-countrymen, which was tilled so industriously by
Frans Snyders and Jan Fyt, and in a lesser degree by the Dutchmen Jan
Weenix, father and son, and Hondecoeter. That the naive instincts,
agility, and vivacity of animals must have had a great attraction for
Rubens is easily understood. Those which are remarkable for their
courage, strength, intelligence, swiftness--as lions, tigers, wild
boars, wolves, horses, dogs--particularly interested him. He paid
special attention to animals, seized every opportunity of studying them
from nature, and attained the most wonderful skill and facility in
painting them. It is related that he had a remarkably fine and powerful
lion brought to his house in order to study him in every variety of
attitude, and that on one occasion observing him yawn, he was so pleased
with the action that he wished to paint it. He therefore desired the
keeper to tickle the animal under the chin to make him repeatedly open
his jaws: at length the lion became savage at this treatment, and cast
such furious glances at his keeper, that Rubens attended to his warning
and had the beast removed. The keeper is said to have been torn to
pieces by the lion shortly afterwards: apparently the animal had never
forgotten the affront put upon him.
By such means--though it is to be hoped not always with such lamentable
results--Rubens succeeded in seizing and portraying the peculiar
character and instinct of animals--their quick movements and
manifestations of strength--with such perfect truth and energy that not
one among the modern painters has approached him in this
respect--certainly not Landseer, as Mrs Jameson would ask us to believe.
The celebrated _Wolf Hunt_, in the collection of Lord Ashburton, was one
of the earliest, painted in 1612 for the Spanish General Legranes only
three years after Rubens's return from Italy. In this picture, his bold
creative fancy and dramatic turn of mind are remarkably
conspicuous--even at this early stage in his career. Catherine Brant,
his first wife, on a brown horse, with a falcon in her hand, is near her
husband; a second huntsman on horseback, three on foot, another old
wolf and three young ones, with several dogs, complete the composition,
which is most carefully painted in a clear and powerful tone throughout.
Of scenes of peasant life, one of his earliest, and yet the most famous,
is the _Kermesse_, which is now in the Louvre. A boisterous, merry party
of about seventy persons are assembled in front of a country ale-house;
several are wildly dancing in a circle, others are drinking and
shouting; others, again, are making love.
_The Garden of Love_, equally famous, was one of Rubens's latest
pictures. Of this there are several versions in existence, of which
those at Dresden and Madrid may be considered as originals. Several
loving couples in familiar conversation are lingering before the
entrance of a grotto, the front of which is ornamented with a rustic
portico. Amongst them we recognise the portraits of Rubens and his
second wife, his pupil Van Dyck, and Simon de Vos.
As Rubens united to such great and various knowledge the disposition to
communicate it to others in the most friendly and candid manner, it was
natural that young painters of talent who were admitted into his atelier
should soon attain a high degree of skill and cultivation.
At "the House in the Wood," not far from the Hague, there is a salon
decorated entirely by the pupils of Rubens. The principal picture, which
is one of the largest oil paintings in the world, is by Jacob Jordaens,
and represents the triumph of Prince Frederick Henry--the object of the
whole scheme being the glorification of the House of Orange, in 1649.
Most of the other pictures are of Theodore van Thulden, who in these
works has emulated his illustrious master in the force and brilliance of
his colouring.
But it is not in any particular salon or palace that we must look for
the effects of Rubens' influence; it was far wider than to be able to be
contained within four walls. In portraiture he gave us Van Dyck; in
historical subjects, Jacob Jordaens; in animal painting and still life,
Frans Snyders, Jan Fyt, and the brothers Weenix. In pictures of everyday
life he gave us Adrian Brouwer and David Teniers; in landscape,
Everdingen, Ruisdael and Waterloo. "Thus was the art of painting in the
Netherlands remodelled in every department," says Waagen in the
concluding sentence of his memoir, "by the energies of a single great
and gifted mind. Thus was Rubens the originator of its second great
epoch, to which we are indebted for such numerous and masterly
performances in every branch of the art."
III
THE PUPILS OF RUBENS
DAVID TENIERS the elder, who was born at Antwerp in 1582, received the
first rudiments of his art from Rubens, who soon perceived in him the
happy advances towards excelling in his profession that raised him to
the head of his school. The prejudice in favour of his son, David
Teniers the younger, is so great that the father is generally esteemed
but a middling painter; and his pictures not worth the inquiry of a
collector. His hand is so little distinguished, however, that the
paintings of the father are often taken for those of the son. The father
was certainly the inventor of the manner, which the son, who was his
pupil, only improved with what little was wanting to perfection.
Rubens was astonished at his early success, and though he followed the
manner of Adrian Brouwer, looked on him as his most deserving pupil by
the brightness of genius that he showed. He soon saved enough money to
undertake the journey to Italy, and when at Rome he established himself
with Adam Elsheimer, who was then in great vogue. In Elsheimer's manner
he soon became a perfect master, without neglecting at the same time the
study of other and greater masters, endeavouring to penetrate into the
deepest mysteries of their practice. An abode of ten years in Italy, and
the influence of Elsheimer combined with that of Rubens, formed him into
what he became.
When he returned to his own country he employed himself entirely in
painting small pictures filled with figures of people drinking and
merry-making, and numbers of peasants and country women. He displayed so
much taste in these that the demand for them was universal. Even Rubens
thought them an ornament to his collection.
Teniers drew his own character in his pictures, and in the subjects he
usually expressed everything tends to joy and pleasure. Always employed
in copying after nature whatsoever presented itself, he taught his two
sons, David and Abraham, to follow his example, and accustomed them to
paint nothing but from that infallible model, by which means they both
became excellent painters. These were his only disciples, and he died at
Antwerp in 1649.
The only distinction between his works and those of his son, David
Teniers the younger, is that in the latter you discover a finer touch, a
fresher brush, a greater choice of attitudes, and a better disposition
of the figures. The father, too, retained something of the tone of
Italy in his colouring, which was stronger than his son's; but his
pictures have less harmony and union--though to tell the truth, when the
father took pains to finish his picture, he very nearly resembled his
son.
The latter, DAVID TENIERS the younger, was born in 1610. He was
nicknamed the Ape of painting, from his powers of imitation. The
Archduke Leopold William made him a gentleman of his bedchamber, and he
made copies of all his pictures. He came to England to buy several
Italian pictures for Count Fuensaldegna, who on his return heaped
favours upon him. Don John of Austria and the King of Spain set so great
a value upon his pictures that they built a gallery set apart to
preserve them--there are no less than fifty-two in the Prado Gallery
to-day.
His principal talent was landscape adorned with small figures. He
painted men drinking and smoking, alchemists, corps de garde,
temptations of S. Anthony, and country fairs and merry-makings. His
small pictures are superior to his large ones. His execution displays
the greatest ease; the leafing of his trees is light, his skies are
admirable: his small figures have an exquisite expression and a most
lively touch, and the characters are marked out with the greatest truth.
From the thinness of the colours his works seem to have been finished at
once; they are generally clear in all their parts, and Teniers had the
art, without dark shades, to relieve his lights by other lights, so well
managed as to produce the effect he wanted, an art which few besides
himself have attained. He died at Antwerp in 1694.