Smarthistory with Flemish Master Peter Paul Rubens

OLV kathedraal Antwerp
(c) Ens Brys

Peter Paul Rubens, Elevation of the Cross

Together with Smarthistory, an American not-for-profit organization for the study of art history, and the Center for Netherlandish Art at Museum of Fine Arts Boston, we are bringing a series of video conversations with curators on important Flemish paintings by artists such as Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, Peter Paul Rubens, and James Ensor.

In this video Dr. Bert Watteeuw, Director of the Rubenshuis in Antwerp, and Dr. Beth Harris discuss the artwork ‘Elevation of the Cross’ (1610), by Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640).

The triptych was originally painted for the Church of Saint Walpurgis, which was destroyed during the French Revolution, but it found a new permanent home in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp.
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Can’t get enough of Rubens’s genius? Make sure to visit Antwerp and follow in his footsteps. Explore the artist’s home, Rubenshuis; visit the city palaces of his friends and contemporaries (Snijders & Rockox House, Museum Plantin-Moretus); and marvel at his masterpieces in the monumental churches and in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. 

Self-portrait of Rubens ©Rubenshuis Antwerpen collectiebeleid
©Rubenshuis Antwerpen collectiebeleid

Peter Paul Rubens

This master of the Baroque is Antwerp through and through. Discover Peter Paul Rubens' masterly works at the Rubenshuis, the KMSKA or in the city's Cathedral.
RUBENS, Venus Frigida © www.lukasweb.be - Art in Flanders vzw
Venus Frigida by Rubens
© www.lukasweb.be - Art in Flanders vzw

Rubens in Flanders

Peter Paul Rubens and Antwerp go together. Both as an artist and diplomat, he worked to make the city the metropolis it is now. Its grandeur continues.
Antwerp's Grote Markt features historic guildhalls and a statue in the foreground. People stroll on the cobblestone square under a blue sky.

48 hours in Antwerp, a grandiose experience

2 days
Antwerp
Time speeds by when you’re in Antwerp. There is so much to experience here, from Baroque master Peter Paul Rubens’s artistic legacy, the Railway Cathedral...

Peter Paul Rubens in Situ

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Kruisafneming - Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerpen, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-kathedraal (publiek domain)
A dramatic triptych depicts vivid scenes with rich colors and dynamic figures. Central panel shows a descent from the cross with intense emotion.

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De Intrige van James Ensor zaalfoto
(c) KMSKA

Smarthistory with Flemish Master James Ensor

What’s the story behind the masked faces and did Ensor really find inspiration in a work by Peter Paul Rubens? Discover more in this video about ‘The Intrigue’.

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