Analysis of a Canvas by Peter Paul Rubens
Although Rome was its birthplace, the "Baroque style soon became international. Among the artists who helped bring this about the great Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) holds a place of unique importance (Janson, 522)." Rubens was trained locally in Antwerp after a childhood in Germany and was a devout Roman Catholic. He spent eight years in Italy studying the work of artists such as Titian and Veronese and absorbing the Italian tradition more thoroughly than had any other Northerners before him (Janson, 522). The Italian influence is readily apparent in the painting examined herein, "The Holy Family with Saint Francis," produced by Rubens circa 1625-1630.
It is best to understand this particular work as representing the mature stage of Rubens' life (Adams, 349). Rubens spent much of his artistic energy on paintings with a religious theme though he did work not only for the Church, but also for the nobility, for private citizens, and for himself. His mythological paintings, such as "Venus and Adonis," are a counterpoint to "The Holy Family with Saint Francis" in that these mythological paintings "celebrate the sensual side of life and seem unaffected by the Counter-Reformation (Adams, 349)." It would appear that the "The Holy Family with Saint Francis" falls into the body of work in which the artist drew heavily upon influences such as those of Titian and Veronese as well as Caravaggio and in which he returned frequently to religious themes, perhaps as part of a commission executed for a Church or religious order. In this particular painting, the inclusion of the figure of Saint Francis suggests that the work may have been executed for a Franciscan religious community.
The purpose of this work seems readily apparent. The central figures consist of Mary, Mother of God, Saint Joseph, the infant Jesus, Saint Francis, and the infant Saint John the B...