RON HENGGELER |
April 12, 2019
The Early Years of Peter Paul Rubens at the Legion of Honor
On Sunday April 7th, I visited the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco to see the new show Early Rubens that had opened the day before.
Here are some of my photo impressions of the paintings from the show.
A view in the Courtyard of the Legion of Honor |
Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) was celebrated for his skillful handling of oil paint; his sensuous coloring; and his taut, action-packed depictions of dramatic narratives. Early Rubens focuses on what is arguably the artist’s most innovative period of production, from 1608 until about 1620. It was during these years that Rubens rose to the highest ranks of European painting. He did so through a series of social and artistic choices that laid the groundwork for his later international fame and established a visual style that would guide ambitious painters for generations to come.This text respectfully taken from the Legion of Honor
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The text that appears on the wall at the beginning of the show |
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The Flight of Lot and His Family from Sodomca.1613-1615Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Boar Huntca. 1616-1617Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Boar Huntca. 1616-1617Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Boar Huntca. 1616-1617Oil on canvas |
Daniel in the Lions' Denca. 1614-1616Oil on canvasRubens depiction of Daniel, the Jewish exile punished for praying to God rather than to the Babylonian king, is among the artist's most emotionally gripping history paintings. Describing the picture in a letter, Rubens declared it was "taken from life. Original, entirely by my hand." The work remained with Rubens until 1618, when it formed part of a group of pictures that he traded to an English ambassador in exchange for a collection of antique sculptures. |
Detail of Daniel in the Lions' Denca. 1614-1616Oil on canvas |
Detail of Daniel in the Lions' Denca. 1614-1616Oil on canvas |
Detail of Daniel in the Lions' Denca. 1614-1616Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Flight of Lot and His Family from Sodomca.1613-1615Oil on canvas |
Detail of Daniel in the Lions' Denca. 1614-1616Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Flight of Lot and His Family from Sodomca.1613-1615Oil on canvas |
The Lamentation of Christca. 1602-1606Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Lamentation of Christca. 1602-1606Oil on canvas |
Phillip Rubens, the Artist's Brotherca. 1610-1611Oil on panel |
Pendant portraits of Rogier Clarisse and Sara Breyel (around 1611) |
Portrait of Isabella Brantca. 1620-1625Oil on canvas |
Portrait of Rogier Clarisseca. 1611Oil on panel |
Detail of Portrait of Sara Breyelca. 1611Oil on panel |
Portrait of Paracelsusca. 1615-1620Oil on panelParacelsus, born Theophrastus von Hohenheim, was a Swiss physician, alchemist, and astrologer of the German Renaissance. He was a pioneer in several aspects of the "medical revolution" of the Renaissance, emphasizing the value of observation in combination with received wisdom. |
Young Woman with Curley Hairca. 1818-1820Oil on panel |
Detail of Young Woman with Curley Hairca. 1818-1820Oil on panel |
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Self-Portrait in a Circle of Friends at Mantuaca. 1602-1606Oil on canvasIn this earliest known self-portrait by Rubens, the painter--who stares directly at the viewer--presents himself among a group of men at Mantua, where he served as court painter to the local duke. |
Detail of Self-Portrait in a Circle of Friends at Mantuaca. 1602-1606Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Lamentation of Christca. 1602-1606Oil on canvas |
The Conversion of Saint Paulca. 1601-1602Oil on panel |
Detail of The Conversion of Saint Paulca. 1601-1602Oil on panel |
Detail of The Conversion of Saint Paulca. 1601-1602Oil on panel |
Saint Gregory with Saints Maurus, Papianus, and Domitilla1606Oil on canvas |
Detail of Saint Gregory with Saints Maurus, Papianus, and Domitilla1606Oil on canvas |
Detail of Saint Gregory with Saints Maurus, Papianus, and Domitilla1606Oil on canvas |
Detail of Hero and Leanderca. 1606Oil on canvasHero and Leander are two lovers celebrated in Greek legend. Hero, virgin priestess of Aphrodite at Sestos, was seen at a festival by Leander of Abydos; they fell in love, and he swam the Hellespont at night to visit her, guided by a light from her tower. Succumbing to Leander's soft words and to his argument that Venus, as the goddess of love and sex, would scorn the worship of a virgin, Hero "allowed" him to make love to her—that is, she did not refuse any longer. Their trysts lasted through a warm summer. But one stormy winter night, the waves tossed Leander about as he swam the strait, and the breezes blew out Hero's light. Leander lost his way in the roiling sea. In Ruben's painting, a flash of lighting illuminates a group of sea nymphs as they transport Leander's corpse to shore, just as the distraught Hero plunges herself in the water to join her lover in death. |
Detail of Hero and Leanderca. 1606Oil on canvas |
Detail of Hero and Leanderca. 1606Oil on canvas |
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The Annunciationca. 1610Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Annunciationca. 1610Oil on canvas |
The Tribute Moneyca. 1610-1615Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Tribute Moneyca. 1610-1615Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Tribute Moneyca. 1610-1615Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Tribute Moneyca. 1610-1615Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Annunciationca. 1610Oil on canvas |
Angelca. 1610-1611Oil on modern support transferred from wood panelThis angel was originally installed atop the massive winged triptych that housed Rubens's altarpiece The Raising of the Cross which depicts the Crucifixion. Descending from heaven at this climactic moment of the Passion, the angel signaled the victory achieved through Christ's death. |
The Lamentationca. 1612Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Lamentationca. 1612Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Lamentationca. 1612Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Lamentationca. 1612Oil on canvas |
Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth, Saint John, and a Doveca. 1608-1609Oil on canvasThis comic--even mildly subversive --quality of this picture, which shows Christ and John the Baptist handling the dove of the Holy Spirit with such familiarity that the bird has lost several feathers, suggests that it was meant to be appreciated for the witty and endearing aspects of Rubens's invention. |
Detail of Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth, Saint John, and a Doveca. 1608-1609Oil on canvas |
Detail of Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth, Saint John, and a Doveca. 1608-1609Oil on canvas |
Detail of Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth, Saint John, and a Doveca. 1608-1609Oil on canvas |
Detail of Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth, Saint John, and a Doveca. 1608-1609Oil on canvas |
Satyr and Maid with Fruit Basketca. 1615Oil on canvas |
Detail of Satyr and Maid with Fruit Basketca. 1615Oil on canvas |
Detail of Satyr and Maid with Fruit Basketca. 1615Oil on canvas |
Lot and His Daughtersca. 1613-1614Oil on canvas |
Samson and Delilahca. 1609-1610Oil on panel |
The Dreaming Silenusca. 1610-1612Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Dreaming Silenusca. 1610-1612Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Dreaming Silenusca. 1610-1612Oil on canvas |
Detail of The Dreaming Silenusca. 1610-1612Oil on canvas |
Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panelHaving heard that a new "king of the Jews" would be born in Bethlehem, King Herod hoped to emiminate this rival by killing all of the town's male children younger than two years of age. This episode amounts to only a small passage in the Gospel of matthew, but it became a standard subject through which Renaissance and Baroque artists could demonstrate their skill at balancing horror and beauty within a single composition. Though grounded in a biblical text, the intended viewers for this painting were connosseurs able to identify and discuss the Renaissance and antique models to which Rubens's composition refers. |
Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panel |
Detail of Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panel |
Detail of Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panel |
Detail of Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panel |
Detail of Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panel |
Detail of Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panel |
Detail of Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panel |
Detail of Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panel |
Detail of Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panel |
Detail of Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panel |
Detail of Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panel |
Detail of Massacre of the Innocentsca. 1611-1612Oil on panel |
Head of Medusaca. 1616-1617Oil on panel |
Detail of Head of Medusaca. 1616-1617Oil on panel |
The Raising of the Cross1638EngravingHans Witdoeck (Flemish 1615-1642)after Peter Paul Rubens |
Detail of The Raising of the Cross1638EngravingHans Witdoeck (Flemish 1615-1642)after Peter Paul Rubens |
Detail of The Raising of the Cross1638EngravingHans Witdoeck (Flemish 1615-1642)after Peter Paul Rubens |
Detail of The Raising of the Cross1638EngravingHans Witdoeck (Flemish 1615-1642)after Peter Paul Rubens |
The Raising of the Cross1638Oil on paper later mounted on canvas |
Detail of The Raising of the Cross1638Oil on paper later mounted on canvas |
Detail of The Raising of the Cross1638Oil on paper later mounted on canvas |
Detail of The Raising of the Cross1638Oil on paper later mounted on canvas |
Detail of The Raising of the Cross1638Oil on paper later mounted on canvas |
Detail of The Raising of the Cross1638Oil on paper later mounted on canvas |
Detail of The Raising of the Cross1638EngravingHans Witdoeck (Flemish 1615-1642)after Peter Paul Rubens |
The Death of Senecaca.1615EngravingCornelis Galle I (Flemish, 1576-1650)after Peter Paul Rubens |
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Battle of the Amazons1623EngravingLucas Vorsterman (Flemish 1595-1675)after Peter Paul Rubens |
Detail of Battle of the Amazons1623EngravingLucas Vorsterman (Flemish 1595-1675)after Peter Paul Rubens |
Detail of Battle of the Amazons1623EngravingLucas Vorsterman (Flemish 1595-1675)after Peter Paul Rubens |
Detail of Battle of the Amazons1623EngravingLucas Vorsterman (Flemish 1595-1675)after Peter Paul Rubens |
Detail of Battle of the Amazons1623EngravingLucas Vorsterman (Flemish 1595-1675)after Peter Paul Rubens |
Detail of Battle of the Amazons1623EngravingLucas Vorsterman (Flemish 1595-1675)after Peter Paul Rubens |
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