PETER PAUL RUBENS
IN THE PRINCELY COLLECTIONS
With the opening of the LIECHTENSTEIN MUSEUM not only has one of the most important
private collections in the world returned to its erstwhile home: this additional museum
has put Vienna firmly on the map as a centre for lovers of art in general and Rubens
enthusiasts in particular.
With 33 autograph paintings by the Flemish artist, the Princely Collections possess
remarkably large holdings of Rubens, most of which have now been made accessible again
to the general public after more than 60 years with the reopening of the LIECHTENSTEIN
MUSEUM in March 2004.
The opening exhibition of the museum did not include some of the oil sketches from the
Rubens collection of the Prince von und zu Liechtenstein, as well as a number of other
important paintings by the Flemish artist. These remained in the depot in Vaduz either
because they were still being restored or did not fit thematically into the concept of
the opening exhibition.
Now they are all being brought together within the framework of the RUBENS IN WIEN
exhibition and displayed in the Library, the Hercules Hall and the three Rubens
galleries of the LIECHTENSTEIN MUSEUM, together with the paintings and oil sketches
already on display, paintings by artists associated with Rubens, his forerunners and
immediate -successors, as well as engravings executed after works by Rubens.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE RUBENS COLLECTION
We owe this magnificent collection of Rubens paintings above all to Prince Johann Adam
Andreas I von Liechtenstein (1662–1712), who succeeded in only one generation in
amassing a body of works which today form the core of the Princely Collections.
As well as these paintings Johann Adam Andreas I also acquired other major works by
Rubens for the gallery which were however later sold and today are the pride of many
European or American museums.
Nonetheless, the holdings of the LIECHTENSTEIN MUSEUM still include examples from all
phases of the artist’s oeuvre, from early works such as the “Conversion of St Paul” (c.
1601/02) to late works such as the monumental “Assumption of the Virgin Mary”, which
was painted in 1635, only a few years before the artist’s death, and is documented as
having been in the possession of the Liechtenstein family since 1643. Astonishingly,
the reigning Prince, Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein, has been able to acquire
several works by Rubens, including sketches, “modelli” and even one -monumental
painting, “The Triumph of Christ over Sin and Death”.
THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY (C. 1637)
The “Assumption of the Virgin Mary”, Peter Paul Rubens’ last and most monumental
treatment of this subject, was the first painting by the Flemish master to be acquired
for the Princely Collections. The spontaneous fluency of the brushwork testifies to the
impressive assurance Rubens achieved in his later years. The consistent bravura of the
painterly execution indicates that all parts of the picture were painted by the master
himself.
For the duration of the RUBENS IN WIEN exhibition a “modello” of this Assumption by
Peter Paul Rubens has been loaned by the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, USA,
allowing us to trace the path taken by the artist from his preliminary studies to the
finished monumental painting.
THE DECIUS MUS CYCLE (1616/17)
Following lengthy negotiations which had started in 1692, Johann Adam Andreas I
eventually acquired the monumental “Decius Mus Cycle” in 1693, thus considerably
broadening the basis of the continually expanding collection of works by Rubens.
Rubens executed this cycle of eight paintings as cartoons for tapestries. The artist
himself recorded that his patron was a ’Genoese noble’. The contract dated 9 November
1616 and drawn up between the Brussels weavers Jan Raes and Frans Sweerts and the
Genoese trader Franco Cattaneo has been preserved. The first two weavings of the Decius
Mus series done at the Brussels manufactory of Jan Raes the Elder were evidently so
successful that in the 17th century a further 20 series were manufactured at various
studios and in different dimensions. The Princely Collections have possessed several
tapestries since the 19th century which are assumed to derive from the “editiones
principes” of Jan Raes; two of them have recently been restored and can be seen in the
exhibition (displayed in the Hercules Hall).
Shortly after they were acquired, a special room in the newly-built Liechtenstein city
palace in Bankgasse was set aside for the “Decius Mus” series. Giovanni Giuliani was
commissioned to make the frames and their elaborately carved and gilded cartouches.
From 1807, when the Garden Palace in Rossau was opened to the public as a paintings
gallery, to 1938 this monumental cycle formed the centrepiece of the gallery in which
it is now once again on display.
The monumentality of the almost life-size figures draws onlookers naturally into the
picture, virtually making them part of the dramatic events depicted. Surrounded by all
the pictures in the cycle hung in close proximity to one another and within the single
enclosed space of the Grand Gallery, visitors themselves become part of the depiction.
For this exhibition the LIECHTENSTEIN MUSEUM has succeeded in securing the loan of two
“modelli” used for the execution of the cycle from the Bayerische
Staatsgemäldesammlungen. They are displayed opposite the finished work and together
with the tapestries enrich our understanding of Rubens’ monumental cycle.
THE CHILD PORTRAITS
One of Rubens’ most famous portraits, that of his daughter Clara Serena, was originally
part of the collection of paintings owned by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm (1614–1662) in
Brussels, which today forms the core of the imperial collections in the
Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Prince Johann Adam Andreas I von Liechtenstein acquired it in exchange for one of his
famous horses from the princely stud at Eisgrub/Lednice. Painted around 1616, this
small panel shows Rubens’ five-year-old daughter from his marriage to Isabella Brant.
The disarming directness with which the child confronts the onlooker is an eloquent
testimony to the relationship between father and daughter. The bright rosy cheeks and
the highlights on nose and brow imbue the portrait with an intense vitality.
Rubens also painted his two sons, Albert and Nikolaus, in a double portrait around
1626/27. Like the portrait of Clara Serena, this painting also bears a seal dated 1733,
the year that the collection of Prince Johann Adam Andreas I von Liechtenstein, who had
died in 1712, was entailed long after his death, thus becoming part of the inalienable
holdings of art owned by the Liechtenstein family.
THE ORGAN CASE DOORS
One of the major new paintings in the gallery of the LIECHTENSTEIN MUSEUM are two organ
case doors painted on both sides which have until recently been preserved in the depot
in Vaduz and have been restored specially for this exhibition. Rubens’ creative genius
is evident in the heads of the music-making angels – with loose, virtuoso brushwork he
endows each of them with an individual character. On the reverse of the panels the
artist has depicted two monumental niche figures executed in grisaille, a traditional
feature of the winged altarpiece.
GANYMEDE (C. 1611/12) AND SATYR (C. 1615)
The exhibition in the LIECHTENSTEIN MUSEUM has been enhanced by loans from two major
aristocratic collections in Vienna: Prince Karl zu Schwarzenberg has placed the
magnificent painting of “Ganymede” (1611/12) at the disposal of the exhibition, and
from the Schönborn-Buchheim collection comes the “Satyr with Maiden and Basket of
Fruit” (c. 1615). These two works perfectly complement the large holdings of paintings
representing subjects from classical mythology in the Liechtenstein collections; hung
on the same wall as “Venus in front of the Mirror” from the Princely Collections, they
touch off a thought-provoking dialogue.
VENUS IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR (C. 1613/14)
Executed around 1613/14, this painting depicts the goddess of love at her toilet, with
her back towards the viewer. She gazes at the onlooker in a mirror which frames her
face like a portrait. A large part of the pictorial space is devoted to the rendering
of her skin and silken, glossy hair, features heightened by the contrast with her darkskinned maidservant. The mirror image of Venus, revealing the beauty of her countenance
to the viewer, becomes a symbol of painting itself, vying with Nature to produce the
truest likeness. This painting is one of the most important works by Rubens in the
Princely Collections and is remarkable above all for the way the goddess of love
directs her gaze at the onlooker.
THE SKETCHES IN THE LIECHTENSTEIN COLLECTION
The numerous oil sketches in the Princely Collections are masterpieces of painterly
virtuosity. As other artists use pencil and paper, Rubens committed his initial
draughts in oils with rapid strokes of the brush to small prepared wooden panels.
Nowhere can Rubens be experienced more authentically than in these swiftly-executed
masterpieces. In “Psyche Taken Up into Olympus” (1621) for example, he succeeds in
capturing the whole cosmos, the eternal interplay between heaven and earth in this one,
small sketch.
From 1616 Rubens had his own highly-organised studio without which he would not have
been in a position to fulfil the multitude of his commissions. The working process from
sketch – almost always painted in oil on small thin wooden panels – via an already
precisely worked-out “modello”, which was also executed by Rubens himself, to the
completed work on which his studio artists collaborated and to which Rubens put the
finishing touches, was clearly marked out. The juxtaposition of the sketch “Mars and
Rhea Silvia” (c. 1616/17) and the completed painting (c. 1616/17) demonstrates in
exemplary fashion the studio process and the different techniques and formats used.
Prince Johann Adam Andreas I was evidently well aware of the value of these “bozzetti”
and “modelli” in that he -endeavoured to secure as many as he could of these entirely
autograph paintings by Rubens. By the end of his life in 1712 he had amassed not only
monumental paintings and cycles but also a wealth of small-scale works, i.e., sketches
and “modelli”. These works were deliberately not included in the opening exhibition of
the LIECHTENSTEIN MUSEUM and are now being put on display.
RUBENS AND LANDSCAPE PAINTING
“Landscape with Milkmaids and Cows” (after 1616) is the first of Rubens’ rare landscape
paintings that he seldom painted for patrons, usually retaining them for himself at his
house. As in this example, they are frequently very intimate studies, painted for his
own pleasure and personal interest while he stayed at his country estates far away from
Antwerp.
ART BEFORE AND AFTER RUBENS, THE INFLUENCE OF RUBENS
Besides autograph works by Rubens, important paintings by his immediate forerunners and
successors have been included in the works on display from the vast holdings of the
depot in Vaduz – of these only about 15% are currently exhibited in the LIECHTENSTEIN
MUSEUM – which convey a vivid impression of Flemish painting in the mid 17th century.
Maerten de Vos’ “Raising of Lazarus”, dating from the latter years of the 16th century,
reveals the high standard of painting in Antwerp on which Rubens was able to build.
Rubens collaborated closely with some of these painters such as the young Van Dyck, a
circumstance that sometimes makes it difficult to distinguish between the hands of the
two masters. It is not until portraits by the young Van Dyck are juxtaposed directly
with contemporaneous portraits by Rubens that the parallels and differences suddenly
become -astonishingly evident.
A widely-ramified school developed out of Rubens’ studio which is also represented by a
number of magnificent works in this exhibition. It is remarkable that in Theodoor van
Loon’s (c. 1581–1667) “Adoration of the Magi” there are recognisable details from the
costumes in Rubens’ portrait of his sons.
GRAPHIC ARTS
The process of graphic reproduction was of great importance to Rubens. He was
meticulously concerned with the quality of his prints, frequently intervening in the
production process, as corrections in his hand on surviving specimen prints testify.
Together with his engravers and printers Rubens succeeded masterfully in reproducing
the depth, plasticity and the play of light of his originals, even in the more
unforgiving medium of monochrome printing, in woodcuts and etchings.
The decision of Prince Joseph Wenzel von Liechtenstein (1696–1772) to have his Rubens
paintings recorded in a volume of engravings testifies to the pride he took in the
Liechtenstein collections. Domenico Mainardi executed delicate grisaille drawings after
the originals which were to serve various engravers as models; some of these
preliminary drawings – of the “Decius Mus Cycle” and “The Artist’s Sons” – have been
preserved. Why the project as a whole was eventually abandoned is unfortunately not
known. However, a number of engravings were made and these are being exhibited in the
Library during the exhibition.
Of especial significance are the early colour prints executed in Vienna by Andreas and
Joseph Schmutzer after the “Decius Mus Cycle” which are particularly attractive on
account of their restrained use of colour. They were acquired only recently for the
Princely Collections from a private owner and after careful restoration are being
presented here for the first time.
PUBLICATION: VORBILD RUBENS
On the occasion of the RUBENS IN WIEN exhibition, an additional catalogue is being
issued by the LIECHTENSTEIN MUSEUM documenting paintings by the predecessors of Peter
Paul Rubens and from the school of Rubens, as well as the history of the reception of
his works. Illustrated by selected works from the holdings of the Princely Collections,
the 144•page catalogue will be published in German by Prestel Verlag (price: EUR 26).