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| Peter Paul Rubens & Jan Brueghel the Elder Sight 1617 Prado |
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) collaborated with Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625) on a series of five canvases representing the five senses. These were based on actual palatial interiors and gardens inhabited by the Spanish rulers of Flanders.
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| Peter Paul Rubens & Jan Brueghel the Elder Hearing 1617 Prado |
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| Peter Paul Rubens & Jan Brueghel the Elder Smell 1617-18 Prado |
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| Peter Paul Rubens & Jan Brueghel the Elder Taste 1618 Prado |
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| Peter Paul Rubens & Jan Brueghel the Elder Touch 1617-18 Prado |
A few years later, Brueghel picked new collaborators for a pair of paintings (below) recapitulating the first series. Sight & Smell found themselves combined on one canvas, with Taste, Hearing & Touch on the other. The same patrons sponsored both sets, Archduke Alberto and the Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia. Their portraits (at bottom) by Rubens were also a collaboration with Brueghel, who painted landscape views of their favorite Flemish palaces as backdrops. This couple were especially eager patrons of Brueghel's work.
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| Jan Brueghel the Elder & Gerard Seghers & Frans Francken the Younger & Joost de Momper Sight & Smell ca. 1620 Prado |
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| Jan Brueghel the Elder & Gerard Seghers & Frans Francken the Younger Taste, Hearing, Touch ca. 1620 Prado |
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| Peter Paul Rubens & Jan Brueghel the Elder Archduke Alberto de Austria ca. 1615 Prado |
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| Peter Paul Rubens & Jan Brueghel the Elder Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia ca. 1615 Prado |
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| Jan Brueghel the Elder Flemish Wedding Banquet Presided over by the Archduke & Infanta ca.1622 Prado |
I am grateful for the beautiful reproductions made available by Museo del Prado.