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| Vision of St. Hubert Landscape and animals by Jan Brueghel the Elder Figure of St. Hubert by Peter Paul Rubens c. 1617-20 Prado |
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) contributed to each of these canvases, and each one also involved another artist. Curators at the Prado have documented and explained the various complex collaborations that resulted in these splendid paintings. The Flemish and Dutch collections at the Prado represent one of the few admirable by-products of Spain's long and ruinous domination of the Low Countries.
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| Landscape with Psyche & Jupiter Landscape by Paul Bril Figures by Peter Paul Rubens 1610 & 1630 Prado |
Flemish artist Paul Bril (1554-1626) painted the canvas above as a landscape without figures in 1610 while in Rome. Peter Paul Rubens came to own this picture, and in 1630 he added the figure of Jupiter as an eagle carrying a goblet of water from the River Styx to the red-draped figure of Psyche. At lower right corner Rubens inserted a piece of foreground to accommodate a dragon and a blasted tree (suggesting that Bril's rainbow-strewn river was somehow simultaneously the river of hell). Rubens evidently made this composite-composition for his own amusement. It remained in his estate after his death. Agents for the King of Spain persuaded the heirs to part with many of the pictures retained in the studio collection of the artist's own work.
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| Achilles Discovered Among the Daughters of Lycomedes by Ulysses and Diomedes Painted by Anthony Van Dyck Retouched by Peter Paul Rubens c. 1617-18 Prado |
Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641) studied in the workshop of Rubens, where he demonstrated a precocious gift to rival the master's. A collector is said to have rejected the narrative painting above in 1618 because it had only been retouched by Rubens and was not entirely by his hand. Before long, however,Van Dyck's work gained an independent and justified fame. By 1625 the Achilles was hanging in one of Madrid's royal palaces.
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| Devotion of Rodolfo I de Habsburgo Landscape by Jan Wildens Figures by Peter Paul Rubens c. 1630 Prado |
Jan Wildens (1586-1653) painted the Baroque landscape above, while Rubens disposed the figures along a convex parabola. The painting narrates an episode from the life of Rodolfo I (1218-1291), founder of the Hapsburg Dynasty. Out hunting with his squire Rodolfo came upon a priest and sexton struggling through a forest as they carried the sacraments to a dying man. Seized by a spasm of piety, Rodolfo offered the horses to the holy pair.
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| Ceres & Pan Flowers & fruit by Frans Snyders Figures by Peter Paul Rubens c. 1620 Prado |
Frans Snyders (1579-1657) specialized in animals, fruit and flowers – heaped-up and overflowing as traditional Flemish taste preferred to see them. Rubens presented the Ceres & Pan above to the King of Spain as a gift. The three paintings that follow represent additional Snyders-Rubens co-productions, with Rubens supplying all the figures.
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| Diana & Her Nymphs Surprised by Satyrs Animals by Frans Snyders Figures by Peter Paul Rubens 1639-40 Prado |
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| Ceres with- Cornucopia & Two Nymphs Fruit, animals & birds by Frans Snyders Figures by Peter Paul Rubens c. 1620 Prado |
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| The Recognition of Philopoemen Pantry still life with game by Frans Snyders Figures by Peter Paul Rubens c. 1609 Prado |
Finally, in the compositions below, Rubens joined forces with certain illustrious dead predecessors. His copies of Holbein and Titian were prized by their royal Spanish owners with as much ardor as the original masterpieces that engendered them.
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| Peter Paul Rubens after Hans Holbein the Younger Portrait of Sir Thomas More 1620s Prado |
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| Hans Holbein the Younger Portrait of Sir Thomas More 1527 Frick Collection |
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| Peter Paul Rubens after Titian Adam & Eve 1628-29 Prado |
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| Peter Paul Rubens after Titian Abduction of Europa 1628-29 Prado |
I am grateful for the beautiful reproductions made available by Museo del Prado.