In the Netherlands, we find before the seventeenth century, two schools
of art; that of Bruges, whose most famous painters were the brothers Van
Eyck, and that of Antwerp, whose founder, Matsys, did some fine work. It
was not until the beginning of the seventeenth century, however, that
art in the Netherlands attained its full strength and life. The artist
to whom the revival was due was Peter Paul Rubens. He was born on the
day of the festival of St. Peter and St. Paul—the 29th of June, 1577, at
Siegen, in Westphalia. His father was a physician, who being suspected of
Protestant proclivities, had been forced to flee from his native town of
Antwerp, and was subsequently imprisoned, not without cause, by William
of Orange, whose side he had joined. When Peter Paul was a year old,
his parents removed to Cologne, where they remained for nine years, and
then on the death of her husband, the mother of Rubens returned with her
child to Antwerp. Young Rubens was sent to a Jesuit school, doubtless
in proof of his mother’s soundness in the faith of Rome, and studied
art. Fortunately for the world, Rubens possessed too original a genius
to be much influenced by his masters. He visited Italy in 1600, where
the coloring of the Venetians exercised a great influence upon the young
painter, and we may consider Paolo Veronese as the source of inspiration
from which Rubens derived the richness of his tints. In 1601 we find
Rubens in the service of Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga of Mantua, an enthusiastic
patron of art, and two years later he was sent to Philip III. of Spain,
on an “artistic commission,” some secret mission, perhaps, but certainly
as the bearer of costly presents. On his return from Spain he passed some
time in Mantua, Rome, and Genoa; the _dramatic power_ of his pictures
he derived probably from Michelangelo, as he had learned richness of
coloring from Veronese, and we can trace the influence of Giulio Romano,
whose works he must have studied at Mantua.
Rubens settled in Antwerp, and married in 1609 his first wife, Isabella
Brandt. Always popular, and always successful, Rubens founded a school
of painting in Antwerp, which was soon crowded with pupils. His life,
however, was destined to be full of action and movement. In 1620 he
went to Paris at the invitation of Marie de Medicis, then living in the
Luxembourg Palace. The work which the widowed queen proposed to Rubens
was to decorate two galleries, the one with scenes from her own history,
the other with pictures from the life of Henri IV.
In 1626 Rubens visited Holland, saw the principal painters of that
country, and lost his wife in the same year. The picture of the two sons
of this marriage is in the Lichtenstein Gallery, in Vienna. In 1627
Rubens was employed in diplomatic service at the Hague, and in the next
year he was ambassador to Philip IV. of Spain, from the Infanta Isabella,
widow of the archduke Albert. In 1629 we find the painter still acting as
a diplomatist, and this time to the Court of England. The courtly manner,
handsome person, and versatile genius of Rubens made him a favorite at
Whitehall.
On his return to Antwerp in 1630, he married his second wife, Helena
Fourment, a girl of sixteen, belonging to one of the richest families
in the city. She served him many times as a model for his pictures. The
great master died in 1640, wealthy, honored, and famous, not only in his
own city, but in many another. He was buried in the Church of St. Jacques
at Antwerp.
In speaking briefly of the chief works of Rubens, we come first to the
“Descent from the Cross,” in Antwerp Cathedral. We find in this wonderful
work perfect unity, and a nobler conception and more finished execution
than usual. Of the coloring it is needless to speak. But even here in
this masterpiece we notice the absence of spirituality. The dead Christ
is an unidealized study, magnificently painted and drawn, but unredeemed
by any divinity of form, or pathos of expression in the head, so that we
discover no foregleam of the Resurrection; it is a dead body, no more.
Among the eighteen pictures by Rubens in the Antwerp Museum, is a “Last
Communion of St. Francis,” which has a great reputation, but suffers from
the ignoble type of St. Francis’s head. It was painted in 1619.
In the Gallery at Munich we find ninety-five paintings by this master,
illustrating all his styles. The masterpiece is the “Last Judgment.”
Passing to Vienna, we find in the Lichtenstein Gallery the portraits
of Rubens’s “Two Sons,” and a long series of pictures illustrating the
“History of Decius.” In the Belvedere is a magnificent portrait of
his second wife, “Helena Fourment.” In the Louvre we find forty-two
paintings by Rubens. The greater number of these belong to the series
illustrating “The Life of Marie de Medicis.” At Madrid in the Museo del
Rey is a “Glorified Virgin,” a truly wonderful work. Turning to Russia,
we find in the Hermitage at St. Petersburg some fine works by this
master; especially deserving of notice is the “Feast in the House of
Simon.” Coming home to England we find this great master again largely
represented. The “History of Ixion on the Cloud” is in the gallery of
the Duke of Westminster; and “Diana and her Nymphs surprised by Satyrs,”
painted for Charles I. in 1629. Blenheim contains many great works by
Rubens.