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

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ph who stands in the background as a sort of protector of the Mother and the Chile, Saint John, who represents his subordination to Jesus, and Saint Francis, who stands somewhat outside of the Holy Family. The iconography suggests the intimacy of the bond between Mother and Child and the fact that Saint Joseph, having accepted Mary's divine pregnancy and the birth of the Son of God, has also accepted his role as their protector and caregiver. In the position of Saint Francis, one understands the reverence and veneration offered by Roman Catholics to the Christ child and his Mother. In discussing works by Rubens, Gardner (545) points out that while the artist was certainly well known for his deeply religious lifestyle and for many paintings that were of a religious nature, he also dealt frequently with mythological concepts and themes. For example, in "Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus," created between 1619 and 1920, Rubens drew upon mythology and created a painting with the surface pattern consisting of extraordinarily rich contrasting textures, consisting of soft luminous flesh, silky hair, lustrous satin, and so forth. In this painting and in "The Holy Family with Saint Francis," Rubens demonstrated his interest in the

Category: Arts - A