Lecture 32: Peter Paul Rubens
and the northern Netherlands À ourished, while the south, which remained
under Spanish Habsburg rule, languished. One reason was the blockade of
the Scheldt River, which almost totally closed Antwerp to trade. Isabella,
co-regent of the southern Netherlands, was the daughter of Philip II; thus,
the territory was supported by Spain’s wealth. Aristocratic and Catholic
patronage was abundant, and the opportunities for Rubens were limitless.Our ¿ rst example is the wedding portrait of Rubens and his ¿ rst wife,
Isabella Brandt (c. 1609). This work is Mannerist in composition and sheen,
but it is Rubensian in robustness and optimism. There are echoes of Italy in
Rubens’s ¿ rst great work, a triptych, Raising of the Cross (c. 1609–1610).
This altarpiece was not painted for the Antwerp Cathedral although it is now
housed there. The three panels are linked in a united composition in which
the space is continuous between the wings and centerpiece. The left side
shows St. John and the Virgin Mary and another group of people looking at
the cross. Note the mother and child who seem to pull us into the painting.The center panel shows the cross being raised, and the composition uses a
diagonal from the upper left to the lower right. Figures with musculature
reminiscent of Michelangelo pull at the cross to raise it. The two thieves
to be cruci¿ ed with Christ are in the background of the right panel. The
composition of the three panels together appears to form a W shape, with
a triangle in the center panel. The source of the center ¿ gure is probably
the Laocoön, an ancient Hellenistic sculpture. Anton Ghering’s painting of
the interior of the Church of St. Walburga in Antwerp (c. 1661) shows the
original location of this painting.Our next example shows the Deposition Altarpiece, which was painted
for the Antwerp Cathedral (c. 1612–1614). The center panel contains the
deposition of Christ from the cross. The winding sheet acts as a backdrop
for the ¿ gure. St. John, St. Mary Magdalene, the Madonna, and St. Joseph
of Arimathaea are pictured. The illuminated ¿ gures against darkness are
reminiscent of Caravaggio. The left wing illustrates the Visitation, where
Mary and St. Elizabeth meet. The right wing portrays the Presentation in the
Te m p l e, where the Christ Child is brought by his parents to Simeon.