i. theme, pictorial tradition and composition (pdf, 4,61 mb)

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rubensbulletinK O N I N K L I J K M U S E U M V O O R S C H O N E K U N S T E N A N T W E R P E N

de verloren zoonJrg. 1, 2007

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RUBENS REVEALED

THE PRODIGAL SON BY PETER PAUL RUBENS

RESEARCH AND RESTORATION

ProvenanceEstate of P.P. Rubens, 1640 (J. Denucé, De Antwerpsche ‘Konstkamers’, Antwerpen, 1932, p. 63, no. 169); Diego Duarte, Antwerp, 12.7.1682, no. 61; Madame Spangen, Antwerp, 1771; Edward Ravenell, auction London (Christie’s), 24.2.1776, lot 66; Pieter van Aertselaer, 1781 (seen there by

Peter Paul Rubens, The Prodigal Son, Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten,inv. no. 781. Oil on panel (composed of five horizontal planks), 111 x 159 cm (day: 107 x 155 cm).

Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1781); 1794-1816, brought in security in the United States by the van Aertselaer family; Stier van Aertselaer, auction Antwerp, 27.08.1817, lot 5 (withdrawn); Stier van Aertselaer, untill 1822; Stier van Aertselaer, auction Antwerp, 29.7.1822, lot 9 (bought by Myin, Antwerp); Myin, Antwerp; John Smith, London, 1823-1824 (offered on sale by); Sir Thomas Lawrence, London, 1829-1830; Sir Thomas Lawrence, auction London (Christie’s), 22.5.1830, lot 14 (withdrawn); William Wilkins, (probably since 1830) 1837 (there seen by G.F. Waagen); William Wilkins, auction London (Christie’s and Manson), 7.4.1838, lot 30 (bought by Farrar); Farrar, 1838; Andrew Fountaine, Narford, 1854 (there seen by G.F. Waagen); Andrew Fountaine, Narford, auction London (Christie’s), 7.7.1894, lot 29 (bought by A. Wertheimer, Paris); A. Wertheimer, Parijs; bought by Léon Gauchez, Paris, 1894 (KMSKA, archive: wa A 1891-1898: ‘aankoop van Léon Gauchez, Parijs, 1894 voor 45.000fr’. Correspondance regarding payment in three stages: 1.10.1894, 18.4.1895 en 6.6.1895).

Preliminary StudiesA Man Threshing beside a Wagon, Los Angeles, The J. Paul Getty Museum, inv. no. 84.GG.693; black and some red, blue-green, yellow, and green chalk, pen and dark brown ink, on pale gray paper; 252 x 414 mm; Prov. William, 2nd Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth; by descent to the 11th Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth; auction London (Christie’s), 3.7.1984, lot 52, ill.; Lit. G. Glück and F.M. Haberditzl, Die Handzeichnungen von P.P. Rubens, Berlin, 1928, no. 94, pl. 94; L. Burchard and R.-A. d’Hulst, Rubens Drawings (Monographs of ‘Nationaal Centrum voor de Plastische Kunsten van de XVIde en de XVIIde eeuw’, II), Brussels, 1963, I, no. 101, II, pl. 101; W. Adler, Landscapes (Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, XVIII, 1), London, 1982, p. 101, no. 26a, fig. 76, p. 82, under, no. 20, p. 100, under no. 26; J.S. Held, Rubens. Selected Drawings, I-II, London, 1986, I, no. 113, II, pl. 115; A.-M. Logan and M. Plomp, (cat. exh.) PeterPaul Rubens. The Drawings, (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2005), New Haven – London, pp. 272-273, no. 98, ill.

Copies

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Paintings (1) Anonymous, whereabouts unknown; canvas, dime 50 x 66; Prov. Jean van Lancker, auction Antwerp (Kolveniershof ), 23.5.1769, lot 119.(2) Anonymous, whereabouts unknown; 110,5 x 141 cm; Prov.: The Property of Isabel, Lady Dunnington-Jefferson, auction London (Christie’s), 23.1.1981, lot 48.(3) Anonymous, right half of the composition, whereabouts unknown; canvas, 112 x 104 cm; Prov.: auction London (Sotheby’s), 14.12.1977, lot 235.

Drawings (6) Anonymous, whereabouts unknown; black and red chalk, tinted with brown, 13 ¼ x 17 ½ in; Prov.: Henry Scipio Reitlinger, 1922; Lit. H. Scipio Reitlinger, Old Master Drawings. A Handbook for Amateurs and Collectors, London – Bombay – Sidney, 1922, p. 141, pl. 32 (as P.P. Rubens). (7) Anonymous, the two horses with the servants, Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, inv. no. 203; black and red chalk, 214 x 238 mm, inscribed in the lower right ‘P.P. Rubbens’; Prov.: Sir Thomas Lawrence; King Willem I of the Netherlands; Chambers Hall; Lit. auction catalogue London (Christie’s), 22.5.1830, lot 14; M. Rooses, L’Oeuvre de P.P. Rubens, Histoire et description de ses tableaux et dessins, I-V, Antwerp, 1886-1892, II , no. 260; G. Glück and F.M. Haberditzl, Die Handzeichnungen von P.P. Rubens, Berlin, 1928, p. 40, no. 93, ill. (as P.P. Rubens); K.T. Parker, Catalogue of the Collection of Drawings in the Ashmolean Museum, I-II, Oxford, 1938-1956, I, pp. 87-88, no. 203 (as copy); J.S. Held, Rubens. Selected Drawings, I-II, London, 1986, I, pp. 112-113; Exh. Loan Exhibition of Flemish and Belgian Art, 1300-1900, Royal Academy, London, 1927, no. 574 (as P.P. Rubens).(8) Anonymous, the stable with cows and milkmaid, whereabouts unknown; chalk, 584 x 533 mm; Prov.: Pierre Crozat, auction Paris, 13.5.1741, lot 822; A. Van der Marck, auction Amsterdam, 25.8.1773, lot 1427; Sir Thomas Lawrence; Lit. J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters, I-IX, London, 1829-1842, II, p. 227, no. 804; auction catalogue London (Christie’s), 22.5.1830, lot 14; M. Rooses, L’Oeuvre de P.P. Rubens, Histoire et description de ses tableaux et dessins, I-V, Antwerp, 1886-1892, V, p. 298, no. 1585.

Prints(9) Schelte Adamsz Bolswert, after Peter Paul Rubens, edited by Gillis Hendricx, copper engraving, 439 x 615 mm; Lit. C.G. Voorhelm Schneevoogt, Catalogue des estampes gravées d’après P.P. Rubens, Haarlem, 1873, p. 232, no. 52, 5; E. Dutuit, Manuel de l’amateur d’estampes, Paris – London, 1881-1885, VI, 3, p. 250, no. 26, 5; A. von Wurzbach, Niederländishes Künstler-Lexikon, Vienna – Leipzig, I-III, 1906-1911, no. 85; M. Rooses, L’Oeuvre de P.P. Rubens. Histoire et description de ses tableaux et dessins, I-V, Antwerp, 1886-1892, II, pp. 38-39, under no. 260; F.W.H. et al., Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700, I-, Amsterdam – Roosendaal, 1949-, III, p. 88, no. 303; D. Bodart, (cat. exh.) Rubens e l’incisione nelle collezioni del Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe, (Villa della Farnesina alla Lungara, Rome, 1977), Rome, 1977, p. 59, no. 97.(10) Anonymous, after the drawing in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford), London, British Museum; lithography.

LiteratureŒuvres complètes du chevalier Josué Reynolds, Paris, 1806, II, p. 305; J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters, I-IX, London, 1829-1842, II, pp. 226, 227, no. 804, IX, p. 300, no. 205; G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain. Being an Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss., etc., etc., I-III, London, 1837-1854, I, p. 261, III, p. 429; W.N. Sainsbury, Original Unpublished Papers Relating to Rubens, London, 1859, p. 240; M. Rooses, in Rubens-Bulletijn. Jaarboeken der ambtelijke commissie ingesteld door den gemeenteraad der Stad Antwerpen voor het uitgeven der bescheiden betrekkelijk het leven en de werken van Rubens, I-V, Antwerp – Brussels, 1882-1910, II, pp. 38-40, IV, pp. 209, 210, V, p. 293; M. Rooses, L’Oeuvre de P.P. Rubens. Histoire et description de ses tableaux et dessins, I-V, Antwerp, 1886-1892, II, pp. 38-39, no. 260; H. Hymans, ‘L’enfant prodigue de Rubens au Musée d’Anvers’, in Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1.08.1895, pp. 169-170; E. Michel, Rubens, sa vie, son œuvre et son temps, Paris, 1900, p. 360; A. Rosenberg (ed.), P.P. Rubens, Des Meisters Gemälde (Klassiker der Kunst, V), 1ste ed., Stuttgart – Leipzig, 1906, pp. 67, 469; E. Dillon, Rubens, London, 1909, pp. 120, 181, 189, pl. LXXVIII; R.

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Oldenbourg, Die Flämische Malerei des XVII. Jahrhunderts, Berlin, 1918, p. 58; H. Hymans, ‘L’enfant prodigue de Rubens au Musée d’Anvers’, Œuvres, III, 1920, pp. 489-491 (reprint of 1895); R. Oldenbourg (ed.), P.P. Rubens, Des Meisters Gemälde (Klassiker der Kunst, V), 4th ed., Stuttgart – Berlin , 1921, no. 182; H. Scipio Reitlinger, Old Master Drawings. A Handbook for Amateurs and Collectors, London – Bombay – Sidney, 1922, p. 141; E. Kieser, Die Rubenslandschaft, Rudolstadt, 1926, pp. 22, 33-35, 45, n. 16; Gedenkboek der feesten, ingericht door de Stad Antwerp, ter gelegenheid van de 350e verjaring van P.P. Rubens’ geboorte, 1577-1927, Antwerp, 1928; W. Witwitzky, Das Gleichnis vom verlorenen Sohn in der bildenden Kunst bis Rembrandt, Dissertation Ruprecht-Karls Universität zu Heidelberg, 1930, pp. 35-36; J. Denucé, De Antwerpsche ‘Konstkamers’. Inventarissen van kunstverzamelingen te Antwerpen in de 16e en 17e eeuwen, Antwerp, 1932, p. 63, no. 169; H. Herrmann, Untersuchungen über die Landschaftgemälde des Peter Paul Rubens, Berlin – Stuttgart, 1936, pp. 13, 34, 41, 46, 52, 69, n. 128; A.H. Cornette, ‘Petrus Paulus Rubens’, in C. Leurs (ed.), Geschiedenis van de Vlaamsche Kunst, II, Antwerp, 1939, p. 726, fig. 418; A.H. Cornette, Inleiding tot de Oude Meesters van het Koninklijk Museum te Antwerpen, Antwerp, 1939, p. 69; A.H. Cornette, Petrus Paulus Rubens, Antwerp, 1940, p. 726, fig. 418; H.G. Evers, Peter Paul Rubens, Munich, 1942, pp. 240-243, fig. 142; G. Glück, Die Landschaften des Peter Paul Rubens, Vienna, 1945, pp. 11, 14-16, 18, 22, 54, 55; 83-85, no. 3, pl. 3; G. Glück, Die Landschaften des Peter Paul Rubens, Vienna, 1947, 2nd ed., pp. 83-85, no. 3; E. Vetter, Der Verlorene Sohn (Lukas-Bücherei zur christliches Ikonographie, VII), Düsseldorf, 1955, pp. XXVII-XXVIII, ill. 25; P. Verdier, ‘The Tapestry of the Prodigal Son’, The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, 18 (1955), pp. 9-58; L. Burchard and R.A. d’Hulst, (cat. exh.) Tekeningen van P.P. Rubens, (Rubenshuis, Antwerp, 1956), Antwerp, 1956, under no. 77; (cat. KMSKA), Antwerp, 1959, p. 213, no. 781; H. Gerson and E.H. ter Kuile, Art and Architecture in Belgium, 1600 to 1800, Harmondsworth, 1960, pp. 99, 107; F. Baudouin, ‘Petrus Paulus Rubens (1577-1640). De Verloren Zoon. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp’, in Openbaar kunstbezit in Vlaanderen, 1964, 2, pp. 15a-b; J. Theuwissen, ‘De kar en de wagen in het Werk van Rubens’, Jaarboek Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerp, 1966 (1967), pp. 199-201, fig. 1; J. Theuwissen, Het landbouwvoertuig in de etnografie

van de Kempen, Antwerp – Utrecht, 1969, pp. 44, 45, fig. 9; J. Theuwissen, ‘Het werk van Bruegel en Rubens als Beelddocument’, Volkskunde, LXXII, 1971, pp. 351-352; G. Dogaer, ‘De inventaris der schilderijen van Diego Duarte’, Jaarboek Konnklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerp, 1971, p. 208, no. 61; H. Vlieghe, Saints (Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, VIII), I-II, Brussels – London – New York, 1972-1973, I, p. 85; H. Vlieghe, De Schilder Rubens, Utrecht – Antwerp, 1977, pp. 90-91, pl. 14; F. Baudouin, P.P. Rubens, Antwerp, 1977, pp. 119-127; L. Vanheule, ‘Over landbouwalaam op het schilderij De Verloren Zoon door P.P. Rubens’, Regionale Heemmusea Bachten de Kupe, 4, 1977, ill.. 4; K. Herrmann Fiore, ‘Rubens und Dürer’, in E. Hubala (ed.), Rubens. Kunstgeschichtliche Beitrage, Konstanz, 1979, p. 115; A. Monballieu, ‘De Verloren Zoon’, in Oude Meesters in Koninklijk Museum, Antwerp, 1980; K. Downes, Rubens, London, 1980, p. 55; L. Vergara, Rubens and the Poetics of Landscape, New Haven, 1982, pp. 142-143; W. Adler, Landscapes (Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, XVIII,1), London, 1982, pp. 98-100, no. 26, fig. 75; D. Bodart, Rubens, Milaan, 1985, p. 170, no. 365a; J.S. Held, Rubens. Selected Drawings, I-II, London, 1986, I, p. 113; E. Vandamme, Catalogus Schilderkunst. Oude meesters. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, 1988, no. 781; B. Haeger, ‘Philips Galle’s engravings after Maarten van Heemskerkck’s Parable of the Prodigal Son’, Oud Holland, 102, no. 1, 1988, pp. 127-140; M. Jaffé, Rubens. Catalogo Completo, Milan, 1989, p. 242, no. 502; A. Monballieu, in Oude Meesters in het Koninklijk Museum, Antwerp, 1989, pp. 47-48; Y. Morel, in P.P. Rubens. Catalogus. Schilderijen – olieverfschetsen. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerp, Antwerp, 1990, pp. 46-49, no. 7; J. Hall, Hall’s Iconografisch Handboek. Onderwerpen, symbolen en motieven in de beeldende kunst (transl. T. Veenhof; red. I.M. Veldman and L.D. Couprie), Leiden, 1993, pp. 352-353; H. Balthazar, W. Blockmans and H.C.H. Blom, De gouden delta der Lage Landen: twintig eeuwen beschaving tussen Seine en Rijn (Bibliotheek van de Vrienden van het Mercatorfonds, V), Antwerp, 1996; C. Brown, (exh. cat.) Making & Meaning. Rubens’s Landscapes, (The National Gallery, London, 16.10.1996 – 19.1.1997), London, 1996, pp.35-47; I. Smets, Het Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerp, een keuze uit de mooise werken, Ghent – Amsterdam, 1999, p. 51; E. Maréchal, ‘De verloren zoon’, in Het Museumboek. Hoogtepunten uit de verzameling. Koninklijk

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Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, Antwerp, 2003, pp. 90-91; H. de Kok, D. de Jong and T. Koorevaar, Boer en boerderij in de Alblasserwaad en de Vijfheerenlanden, Hardinxveld-Giessendam, 2003; Rubens in Antwerp, Ghent – Amsterdam, 2004, pp. 40-41; (exh. cat.) Rubens, ses mécènes et son milieu, (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille, 6.3.2004 – 14.6.2004), Lille, 2004, p. 139, no. 75.; L. Huet, Pieter Paul Rubens, Ghent – Amsterdam, 2004, p. 25; A.-M. Logan and M. Plomp, (exh. cat.) Peter Paul Rubens. The Drawings, (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2005), New Haven – London, pp. 272-273, under no. 98, fig. 148.

THE PRODIGAL SON

I. THEME, PICTORIAL TRADITION AND COMPOSITION

Christine Van Mulders

Multiple themes

In the right foreground, the prodigal son kneels down before a stable maid and begs for some food (ill. 1). The wretched swineherd is dressed in rags. The maid is putting feed into a trough around which three hungry pigs jostle for position. Her gaze seems to be fixed above the beggar. A stableman looks on suspiciously from behind the shore. From the left, a dog chases some piglets, who seek refuge under the sow.

The left part of the composition consists of a detailed view into an open barn. On the far left, two horses and a groom have their backs turned to the viewer. Behind the horses, a stableman

is forking hay into a rack. A burning candle in a holder on the wall spreads a warm glow that merges with the predominant daylight (ill. 2). In the middle stands an old woman with a candle, facing some cattle. The animals are either standing or lying with their left flanks turned towards the viewer under a lower partition in

Ill. 1. P.P. Rubens, The Prodigal Son, detail.


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the barn. The walls and floor of the barn are strewn with numerous baskets and pieces of equipment. To the right, the open construction gives out onto a yard, where we notice a wagon for another barn. The farm has a thatched roof with a dovecote. A farm-hand is attending two horses that wade in a pond. The background is lush with shrubs and trees. Evening clouds adorn the sky, as the setting sun colours the horizon red.

The painting has a twofold theme. On the one hand, there is the biblical story after which the piece was named, i.e. the parable of the prodigal son. This religious scene takes up just a small part of the composition though. To Rubens, the painting was first and foremost an evocation of life in the country, featuring a detailed rendering of a barn and activities in a farmyard at dusk.

The parable of the prodigal sona. Literary sourcePeter Paul Rubens was a brilliant artist, a successful businessman, a prominent diplomat, a humanist intellectual, an appreciated author and a great collector of art and other objects. Each of Rubens’s areas of distinction was reflected in his exceptional book collection, which at the time was among the biggest and most important in Antwerp and the Southern Netherlands. After Rubens’s death in 1640, the library was inherited by his son Albert. Subsequently, after the latter had died in 1657, it was auctioned. The auction catalogue from 1658 is invaluable for reconstructing Rubens’s library.1

Rubens obviously possessed a copy of the Biblia Sacra, the most direct literary source for his renderings of numerous religious themes. The parable of the prodigal son appears in the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 15, verses 11-32.

1) For the reconstruction of Rubens’s library, see E. McGrath, Rubens: Subjects from History (Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, XIII, 1), London, 1997, pp. 55-67; P. Arents (A. Thijs, ed.), De bibli-otheek van Pieter Pauwel Rubens: een reconstructie, Antwerpen, 2001; (exh. cat.) Een hart voor boeken. Rubens en zijn bibliotheek, (Museum Plantin-Moretus, Antwerp, 6.3-13.6.2004), Antwerp, 2004.

The story tells of how the youngest of two sons demands that his father pay him his share of his inheritance. He then leaves for a distant country and squanders the money on riotous living. When the country is hit by famine, the hungry and repentant young man becomes a swineherd, desperate to make ends meet. Eventually he returns home, where his father welcomes him with open arms. Rubens’s painting depicts the

episode when the prodigal son is working as a swineherd. The relevant passage in the parable goes as follows: ‘So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him out to his farm to tend to the swine. And he longed to eat his fill on the pods on which the swine (ill. 3) fed, but nobody gave him any’.

b. Pictorial traditionOf all the biblical stories about the virtues of repentance and forgiveness, the parable of the prodigal son is arguably the most depicted. From the thirteenth and well up into the eighteenth centuries, it was a very popular theme, told either in the shape of narrative cycles or as separate episodes: the prodigal son receiving his inheritance; leaving for a distant country; squandering his money on women in an inn; being chased off after having spent all his money; tending to the swine; returning home. Such scenes were commonly depicted in manuscripts, stained-glass windows, tapestries, paintings, cabinets and prints.

In pictorial representations of the prodigal son as a repentant swineherd, we often see him kneeling in prayer at a farm or in a shack, in the proximity of swine that are eating from a trough. Around them, we see farm-hands handling cattle and horses. Sometimes angels are seen descending from heaven, but the latter element is missing from Rubens’s rendering. We also notice that Rubens’s painting is in line with the prevailing pictorial tradition and that he may have drawn inspiration from renderings by some influential predecessors, including compositions by Albrecht Dürer (London, British Museum; ill. 4), Maarten de Vos (print of Crispijn van


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de Passe in Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum), Maarten van Heemskerck (print of Philips Galle in Leiden, Rijksuniversiteit) and Otto Van Veen (Mainz, Landesmuseum).2

Rural lifeThis choice of scene from the parable of the Prodigal Son provided Rubens with an ideal opportunity to create an atmospheric and precise rendering of an open barn with a view of the farmyard and the surrounding landscape, and featuring the day-to-day activities of life out in the country.

a. Literary sourcesRubens’s interest in rural life was also reflected in his book collection. His library included two important publications on farming in antiquity: the Georgica (37-30 BC) and the Eclogae or Bucolica (37 BC) by Publius Vergilius Maro (70-19 BC). The Georgica describes the ideal life of the countryman; the Bucolica is a collection of conversations between shepherds. Perhaps these two literary sources provided Rubens with inspiration for his painting of such a rural scene as in The Prodigal Son.

Also part of Rubens’s library were theoretical treatises on architecture.3 In his possession he had Vignola’s treatise on perspective, the commentaries of Guillaume Philandrier and Daniele Barbaro on Vitruvius, Juan Bautista Villalpando’s reflections on Ezekiel, an edition of the writings of Serlio and publications by Vicenzo Scamozzi and Jacques Francart. Rubens was

2) B. Haeger, ‘The prodigal son in sixteenth and seventeenth-century Netherlandish art: depictions of the parable and evolution of a Catholic image’, Simiolus, 16, nos. 2/3, 1986, pp. 128-138; B. Haeger, ‘Philips Galle’s engravings after Maarten van Heemskerck’s “Parable of the Prodigal Son”’, Oud Hol-land, 102, no. 1, 1988, pp. 127-140.3) A. Blunt, ‘Rubens and Architecture’, The Burlington Magazine, CXIX, 1977, p. 621, no. 43; H.W. Rott, Palazzi di Genova, Architectural drawings and engravings (Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, XXII, 1), London – Turnhout, I, pp. 86-87.

Ill. 4. Albrecht Dürer, The Prodigal Son, engraving.

not only very knowledgeable on the history of architecture, but he also possessed practical knowledge about its constructional principles. In this respect, it is remarkable to observe how Rubens used a somewhat misleading perspective in The Prodigal Son, with two focal points! The numerous emblem books in Rubens’s collection, including Otto Venius’s Amoris Divini Emblemata (Antwerp, 1615), surely also served as a source of inspiration for the symbolism and iconography in his paintings, as The Prodigal Son testifies.

Surroundings as a source of inspirationIt should be emphasised that the area around Antwerp, where Rubens used to live and work, was probably the most immediate source of inspiration for the rural setting of The Prodigal Son. The fact that the land beyond the city ramparts was still very rural in Rubens’s era is apparent from landscape paintings by some of his contemporaries. A good example in this respect is Landside View of Antwerp (Middelburg, Town Hall) by Jan Wildens.

Flemish landscape painting and pictorial traditionRubens’s concept and composition obviously tie in with the pictorial tradition of Flemish landscape painting.4 In the first half of the 16th century, prior to the establishment of landscape painting as a distinctive genre, we witness the emergence of landscapes disguised as religious representations. This was an old tradition in Flemish painting dating back to Joachim Patinir’s landscapes featuring small biblical scenes, like the Landscape with the Flight into Egypt (Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten; ill. 5). ‘Disguised’ landscape painting remained

4) For the origins and evolution of Flemish landscape painting, see (exh. cat.) De uitvinding van het landschap, Van Patinir tot Rubens 1520-1650, (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, 8.5-1.8.2004), Antwerp, 2004.

Ill. 5. Joachim Patinir, The Rest on the Flight to EgyptAntwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten.

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fashionable well after and would develop further into a more diverse genre that also included combinations with mythological or genre scenes (Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Joos de Momper, Abraham Govaerts, Tobias Verhaecht and Paul Bril).In The Prodigal Son, the focus of attention is very much on the interior of the barn and rural labour, while the biblical topic is of secondary importance. It is as if Rubens, being a painter of figures and historical scenes, was not quite ready yet to paint a rural scene as such, and therefore decided to add a biblical figure, almost as an excuse. In this sense, Rubens’s work fits into the ‘disguised landscape’ direction within the Flemish landscape painting tradition.5

Rubens and landscapesRubens only began painting landscapes around 1617. He was first and foremost a painter of religious and mythological scenes, as well as scenes from classical history. The reputation he acquired across Europe from the early 17th century was based primarily on the monumental altarpieces he had produced for Flemish churches after his return from Italy in 1609, as well as on his large historical and mythological series from the 1620s and 30s. In order to be able to execute these large commissions, Rubens extended his home with a studio, where pupils, assistants and experts helped in the production of paintings under his supervision. He also painted portraits, genre scenes and about 40 landscapes.6

The question arises why Rubens only started painting landscapes and rural scenes so late in his career. In the period 1617-1620, he produced a number of large altarpieces representing the Adoration of the Shepherds

5) H. Vlieghe, De Schilder Rubens, Utrecht – Antwerp, 1977, pp. 90-91.6) For Rubens’s landscape painting, see W. Adler, Landscapes (Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, XVIII,1), London, 1982; C. Brown, (exh. cat.) Making & Meaning. Rubens’s Landscapes, (The National Gallery, London, 16.10.1996 – 19.1.1997), London, 1996; K. Renger, ‘Rubens en navolgers’, in (cat. exh.) De uitvinding van het landschap, Van Patinir tot Rubens 1520-1650, (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, 8.5-1.8.2004), Antwerp, 2004, pp. 71-76; H.-J. Raupp, ‘Rubens en de pathos van het landschap’, in (cat. exh.) De uitvinding van het landschap, Van Patinir tot Rubens 1520-1650, (Konink-lijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, 8.5-1.8.2004), Antwerp, 2004, pp. 77-85.

like the one in Rouen (Musée des Beaux-Arts; ill. 6) and the Adoration of the Magi. For these paintings, he sought inspiration from the countryside, which started just beyond the city ramparts of Antwerp. It was in these

years that he produced various drawings from life of country girls and other rural characters, as well as sketches of animals, trees, tools and wagons. Perhaps these trips into the countryside inspired Rubens to start painting landscapes and rural scenes, not by commission, but rather for his own enjoyment, as a diversion in between altarpieces and historical scenes. Certainly the fact that quite a few of these landscapes including The Prodigal Son – were in Rubens’s possession at the time of his death in 1640 suggests that his relationship with these works was rather personal.7 And in painting these landscapes, without needing to take into account the wishes of a customer, Rubens was able to give full expression to his perception of rural life. In The Prodigal Son, too, we notice his love of country life and the infinity of nature. Between 1635-

1640, Rubens would, for that matter, paint other rather cosmically inspired panoramic landscapes. There is no doubt that, in that period, Rubens drew inspiration from the area around his country estate, het Steen, in Elewijt. The paintings Landscape with the Château Steen (London, National Gallery) and Landscape with a Rainbow (London, Wallace Collection) most likely adorned the Steen itself. Landscape by Moonlight (London, Courtauld

7) F. Baudouin, ‘Petrus Paulus Rubens (1577-1640). De Verloren Zoon. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerpen’, Openbaar kunstbezit in Vlaanderen, 1964, 2, pp. 15a-b; F. Baudouin, P.P. Rubens, Antwerp, 1977, pp. 119-127; C. Brown, (cat. exh.) Making & Meaning. Rubens’s Landscapes, (The National Gallery, London, 16.10.1996-19.1.1997), London, 1996, p. 11.

Ill. 6. P.P. Rubens, The Adoration of the Magi, Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts.

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Institute Galleries) and A Forest at Dawn with a Deer Hunt (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art) may have hung in the Steen or at his home in Antwerp. Other landscapes ended up in collections of some of his close acquaintances, including his brother-in-law Arnold Lunden, and such patrons as the Duke of Buckingham and Everhard Jabach. Again, this is an indication that Rubens painted landscapes for his personal enjoyment and that of a few close friends and patrons.8 Because of the private nature of Rubens’s landscapes, these paintings would only gain wide admiration later on. They would, after all, remain relatively unknown during Rubens’s lifetime, as the most important examples remained in his personal possession. Towards the end of his life, he commissioned Schelte Adamsz Bolswert to produce an engraving of at least one of his landscapes; others were reproduced in print shortly before or after his death.9 Lucas van Uden also painted copies of landscapes by Rubens. As both the paintings and prints became more widely distributed after his death, his fame as a landscape painter grew. Philip Rubens, in his account about his uncle to Roger de Piles, asserts that Rubens’s landscapes are among his best work. Indeed, by the 18th and 19th centuries, those landscapes were greatly admired by a number of English painters and collectors, and some were purchased by them.10

Rubens’s approach to composition and pictorial designAs we have already pointed out, Rubens uses the theme of the prodigal son merely as a device for a sublime representation of rural life, more specifically a detailed representation of an open barn and the final activity

8) C. Brown, (cat. exh.) Making & Meaning. Rubens’s Landscapes, (The National Gallery, London, 16.10.1996-19.1.1997), London, 1996, p. 11.9) K. Renger, ‘Rubens en navolgers’, in (cat. exh.) De uitvinding van het landschap, Van Patinir tot Ru-bens 1520-1650, (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, 8.5-1.8.2004), Antwerp, 2004, pp. 73-74; N. Van Hout, ‘Romantische landschappen. Bewonderd en verguisd’, in Copyright Rubens. Rubens en de grafiek, Ghent - Amsterdam, 2004, pp. 116-122.10) C. Brown, (cat. exh.) ) C. Brown, (cat. exh.) Making & Meaning. Rubens’s Landscapes, (The National Gallery, London, 16.10.1996-19.1.1997), London, 1996, p. 12; K. Renger, ‘Rubens en navolgers’, in (cat. exh.) De uitvind-ing van het landschap, Van Patinir tot Rubens 1520-1650, (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, 8.5-1.8.2004), Antwerp, 2004, p. 75.

at a farm by dusk. The farmyard and the barn were not painted from life on the spot. This was, for that matter, not customary in Rubens’s day; It was not until the 19th century that artists would position themselves with easel and palette before a building or landscape. Rubens composed and executed the painting in his studio, on the basis of sketches of figures, animals, trees, barns, tools and wagons which he had previously drawn from life at different times and in various locations. Rubens’s imagination and his capacity to recreate from memory, as well as his talent for design and composition, were therefore more important than one would initially assume.11

Composition

The skeleton of the composition consists of a number of forceful horizontal and vertical lines that coincide with the main wooden beams of the barn. The silhouette of the central cow emphasises this rectangular basic structure. The vanishing lines correspond with the foreshortening of the strut (ill. 7). The use of multiple vanishing points opens the scene up further to the viewer, who is drawn into the barn, as it were, by the effective use of the structural lines. The predominance of angular vanishing lines, starting from left and cutting through the painting into the distance, is counterbalanced by the forceful verticalism of the strut. It at once emphasises the division between the dark barn and the bright landscape. The asymmetric nature of the composition – a typical Baroque feature – is enhanced by the uneven lighting and colouring,

11) F. Baudouin, ‘Petrus Paulus Rubens (1577-1640). De Verloren Zoon. Koninklijk Museum voor ) F. Baudouin, ‘Petrus Paulus Rubens (1577-1640). De Verloren Zoon. Koninklijk Museum voor De Verloren Zoon. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerpen’, Openbaar kunstbezit in Vlaanderen, 1964, 2, pp. 15a; F. Baudouin, P.P. Rubens, Antwerp, 1977, p. 127.

Ill. 7 P.P. Rubens, The Prodigal Son, vanishing points.

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and by the presence of the barrier, which likewise leads the viewer’s eyes towards the background. A similar optical purpose is fulfilled by the piece of roundwood between the loft and the floor. The stern structure of the barn is broken by a broad, imaginary banderol connecting objects, animals and people. It starts at the rack, continues into the foreground via the thin stalks of straw, and subsequently passes by the swine from where it moves up to the naked upper body of the prodigal son and the torso of the maid, to eventually disappear into the sky via the horses in the background. The rectilinear nature of the composition is further softened by the round shape of the baskets, barrels and wheels. The playful silhouette of the slender branches also contrasts with the sternness and straightness of the strut. Ultimately, within this complex composition of the barn, a balance is achieved between the vertical, horizontal and diagonal structural lines, resulting in a smooth connection of objects, animals and figures. At the same time, the expressly round shape of certain other elements has a neutralising effect on those stern structural lines. In this manner, Rubens succeeds in creating a balanced and coherent composition, despite the considerable complexity of the underlying structure.

Light

In The Prodigal Son, Rubens allows light to sparkle in every possible way. Here, he combines different kinds of light, from a variety of sources, and shining from different angles. He does not represent them side by side, in sharp contrasts, but rather allows them flow into one another and to create a sense of balance. This results in a subtle, soft representation of shape and colour.12 The strongly contrasting, almost Caravaggesque use of light that was so very typical of Rubens’s earlier work has been softened here. Deep inside the barn glows the warm, unsteady artificial

12) W. Adler, ) W. Adler, Landscapes (Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, XVIII,1), London, 1982, pp. 99-100.


light from two candles: one hanging against a wall, the other held by the old woman who is seen leaning forward (ill. 8). On the one hand, this candlelight illuminates certain areas in the painting, such as the faces of the two farm-hands and the old woman, the heads of the front cows and the wall, while on the other it casts a soft glow over the interior of the barn. In this manner, Rubens succeeds in creating a local nightpiece.13 As we have previously mentioned, in Rubens’s early nightpieces, we notice a characteristically sharp Caravaggesque chiaroscuro. However, towards the end of the second decade, Rubens, while still fascinated with the reflection of fire or candlelight, began to paint it in a softer, more sensual manner. The hard confrontations between brightness and shadow would gradually make way for a softly swirling glow in the darkness, as The Prodigal Son testifies.

The front section of the barn is illuminated by bright daylight, which enters the half-open construction. Reflections of daylight are suggested primarily on the hind ends of the horses (ill. 9), the flanks of the front cows and the swine, but also on the sheaf of corn, the tools in the foreground and

the basket in the loft. In this instance, too, we see that the characteristically strong chiaroscuro in Rubens’s paintings from the early after his return from Italy has been replaced with softer transitions between light and dark. The milkmaid and the prodigal son, although slightly sheltered by the extending roof of the barn, catch full daylight. Yet, the prodigal son is illuminated by some additional light, as if the natural light of day is outshone

13) P. van der Ploeg, ‘Oude vrouw en jongen met kaarsen’, ) P. van der Ploeg, ‘Oude vrouw en jongen met kaarsen’, Vereniging Rembrandt, autumn 2006, p. 9.



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by an unnatural, celestial brightness originating in the direction of his imploring gaze (ill. 10).

ColourIt is hard to tell which time of day Rubens intended to depict. The horizon that is visible through the partition for the cattle is blue. Analysis has confirmed the presence of lapis lazuli. Likewise, the sky to the right of the strut is largely blue, suggesting daytime. However, there is some evening cloud about, and at the horizon to the right of the barn we notice the reddish-yellow glow of the setting sun. Apparently, then, we have a confrontation of different times of day that seem to merge into one. In this way, Rubens succeeds in subtly capturing the transitional moment between daytime and evening. ‘The Prodigal Son is drenched in golden light. It is the struggle between the dying day and the approaching evening that is already apparent in the depths of the barn’.14 In addition to yellow and red hues, the background also contains some green touches of foliage. The colours inside the barn are predominantly warm: sandy, brown and yellow tones. The unsteady candlelight casts a reddish glow on the face of the farm-hands. We encounter a similar colour effect deeper inside the barn, in between the supports and the wall and the face of the old woman. Despite the preponderance of daylight, the warm tones are accentuated by the candlelight inside the barn. In this sense, there is a similarity between The Prodigal Son and the Adorations of the Shepherds and Adorations of the Magi from the same period, which are also characterised by a balance of warm colour.The landscape and interior in the painting have assumed a ‘dramatic’ quality through the effective use of light and colour, in a fashion that had previously been unheard of in Flemish painting. It is a style of painting that exhibits a certain affinity with Titian’s late landscapes.

14) A.H.Cornette, ) A.H.Cornette, Petrus Paulus Rubens, Antwerp, 1940, p. 726, fig. 418.

Pictorial design

Rubens uses very recognisable recurrent images. Starting from studies from life, he developed an arsenal of motifs from which he could draw as he pleased. The kneeling prodigal son, the milkmaid, the old woman with the candle, the horses, the central cow, elements of the barn, the tools and the wagon are all cases in point.

The figure of the kneeling prodigal son reappears as a sheperd in several of Rubens’s Adorations of the Sheperds (Antwerp, St. Paul’s church; ill. 11). The Study of two figures and a man with a turban (Amsterdam, Amsterdams Historisch Museum) was made as a preliminar drawing for this painting. The milkmaid in The prodigal son turns up in several of Rubens’s landscapes, such as the Landscape with cows

and duck hunters (Berlin, Gemäldegalerie). Rubens’s study of a Woman carrying a jar (Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett) was reused by Rubens in his painting in Berlin.15 The old woman with a candle stick reappears in Rubens’s Samson and Delila in London (The National Gallery; ill. 12) and the Old woman with a boy with candle sticks in The Hague (Mauritshuis).16 In The farm at Laeken (London, Royal Collection), we recognize the motive of the cow in the middle. The preparatory Study of an ox is in Vienna (Albertina). The

15) Rubens made this preparatory study for the ) Rubens made this preparatory study for the Adoration of the Sheperds in Marseille (Musée des Beaux-Arts). 16) P. van der Ploeg, ‘Oude vrouw en jongen met kaarsen’, ) P. van der Ploeg, ‘Oude vrouw en jongen met kaarsen’, Vereniging Rembrandt, autumn 2006, p. 9.

Ill. 11. P.P. Rubens, The Adoration of the Sheperds, Antwerp, St. Paul’s Church.

Ill. 12. P.P. Rubens, Samson and Delilah,

London, The National Gallery.

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London painting shows the same wading horses with servant that can be found in The prodigal son. Most probably, then, this was not an existing barn, but rather a construct based on various individual sketches from life that Rubens had made out in the countryside. For that matter, he created a very similar composition in Winter (Windsor Castle). The farming tools in the painting are a realistic rendering of the type of equipment that was used in the polders around Antwerp in the 17th century.17 During the 16th and 17th centuries, farming in Flanders underwent an extraordinary evolution, characterised not so much by mechanisation as by the development and upgrading of certain pieces of equipment, such as the Brabant plough, the square harrow and manual reaping tools.The wagon, too, is an accurate rendering of a type of vehicle that was commonly used in the countryside around Antwerp, more specifically in the Waasland area.18 It is a good example of the extent to which certain farming equipment had been perfected, so that they would change very little up until they were mechanised in the 20th century. The wagons in Rubens’s paintings testify to the interest and sense of accuracy with which the artist observed and represented the rural environment around him. Rubens probably produced the Study of a Man Threshing Beside a Wagon (Los Angeles, The J. Paul Getty Museum; ill. 13) in preparation of The Prodigal Son.19

17) J. Theuwissen, ) J. Theuwissen, Het landbouwvoertuig in de etnografie van de Kempen, Antwerp – Utrecht, 1969, pp. 42-48; L. Vanheule, ‘Over landbouwalaam op het schilderij De Verloren Zoon door P.P. Rubens’, Regionale Heemmusea Bachten de Kupe, 4, 1977.18) Theuwissen, ‘De kar en de wagen in het Werk van Rubens’, ) Theuwissen, ‘De kar en de wagen in het Werk van Rubens’, Jaarboek Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerp, 1966 (1967), pp. 199-201; J. Theuwissen, Het landbouwvoertuig in de etno-grafie van de Kempen, Antwerp – Utrecht, 1969, pp. 42-48.19) This is the only preparatory study in existence that Rubens made for ) This is the only preparatory study in existence that Rubens made for The prodigal son; see under ‘Preliminar Studies’.

Ill. 13. P.P. Rubens, Study of a Man Threshing Beside a Wagon

Los Angeles, The J. Paul Getty Museum.

This drawing exudes the characteristic directness of Rubens’s studies from life. The variety of materials, colour, technique and corrections all contribute to this effect. Although the wagon was characteristic for the Antwerp region, Rubens also used it in paintings of imaginary mountainous landscapes that are more reminiscent of the Ardennes than the lowlands along the river Scheldt, as in Landscape with a Cart (St Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum).

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