Rubens and Brueghel A Working Friendship

290 Pages·2006·27.59 MB·English

by  Anne T. Woollett and Ariane van Suchtelen

Rubens &
Brueghel
Rubens
Brueghel
Anne T. Woollett
Ariane van Suchtelen
with contributions by
Tiarna Doherty, Mark Leonard,
and j0rgen Wadum
A Working Friendship
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague
in association with
Waanders Publishers, Zwolle, The Netherlands

Rubens and Brueghel: A Working Friendship has been organized by On the cover and page 214: Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the
the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis. Elder, detail of The Return from War: Mars Disarmed by Venus (cat. no. 2)
Frontispiece: Peter Paul Rubens, The Family of Jan Brueghel the Elder,
ca. 1612-13. Oil o n panel, 125.1 x 95.2 cm (49V4 x 371/2 in.). London,
The exhibition in The Hague is sponsored by
The Samuel Courtauld Trust, Courtauld. Institute of Art Gallery,
I N G inv. p.1978.PG.362.
Rages iv-v: Jan Brueghel the Elder and Pete r Paul Rubens,
detail of The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (cat. no. 4)
This volume is published to accompany the exhibition Rubens and
Rage viii: Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens,
Brueghel: A Working Friendship, held at the J. Paul Getty Museum,
detail of Allegory of'Taste (cat. no. 8)
Los Angeles, and the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague.
The exhibition is on view in Los Angeles from July 5 to September 24, Rage xiv: Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder,
2006, and in The Hague from October 21, 2006, to January 28 , 2007. detail of The Feast of Achelous (cat. no. 3)
Rage 42: Peter Paul Rubens and Ja n Brueghel the Elder,
© 2006 J. Paul Getty Trust
detail of Ran and Syrinx (cat. no. 5)
Dutch translation © 2006 Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague,
and Waanders Publishers, Zwolle, The Netherlands Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
All photographs are copyrighted by the issuing institution, unless Woollett, Anne T.
otherwise noted.
Rubens and Brueghel : a working friendship / Anne T. Woollett, Ariane
van Suchtelen ; with contributions by Tiarna Doherty, Mark Leonard,
Getty Publications
and Jorgen Wadum.
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suit e 500
p. cm.
Los Angeles, California 90049-1682
"Published to accompany th e exhibition 'Rubens and Brueghel:
www.getty.edu
a working friendship,5 held at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles,
and the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis , The Hague. The exhibition
Mark Greenberg, Editor in Chief
will be on view in Lo s Angeles from July 5 to September 24, 2006, an d
Ann Lucke, Managing Editor in The Hague from October 21, 2006, to January 28, 2007"—T.p. verso.
Cynthia Newman Bohn, Editor Includes bibliographical references and index.
Jeffrey Cohen, Designer ISBN-13: 978-0-89236-847-1 (hardcover)
Suzanne Watson, Production Coordinator ISBN-IO: 0-89236-847-0 (hardcover)
Diane Webb, Translator ISBN-13: 978-0-89236-848-8 (pbk.)
ISBN-IO: 0-89236-848-9 (pbk.)
Typesetting by Diane Franco 1. Rubens, Peter Paul, Sir, 1577-1640—Exhibitions. 2. Brueghel, Jan,
Color separations by Professional Graphics, Inc., Rockford, Illinois 1568-1625—Exhibitions. 3. Artistic collaboration—Belgium—Antwerp—
Printed by Waanders Publishers, Zwolle, The Netherlands Exhibitions. I. Suchtelen, Ariane van. II. Rubens, Peter Paul, Sir,
1577-1640. III. Brueghel, Jan , 1568-1625. IV. J. Paul Gett y Museum.
V. Mauritshuis (Hague, Netherlands). VI. Title. VII. Title: Rubens
and Brueghel.
ND673.R9A4 2006
759-94 93—dc22
2006003124
The authors of the catalogue entries are identified by their initials:
Ariane van Suchtelen (AvS) and Anne T Woollett (ATW).
Contents
ix Foreword
MICHAEL BRAND AND FREDERIK J. DUPARC
xi Acknowledgments
xiii Lenders to the Exhibition
i Two Celebrated Painters: The Collaborative Ventures
of Rubens and Brueghel, ca. 1598-1625
ANNE T. WOOLLETT
43 Catalogue
ARIANE VAN SUCHTELEN
ANNE T. WOOLLETT
44 Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens / CAT. NOS . 1-13
128 Jan Brueghel the Elder and Hans Rottenhammer / CAT. NOS. 14-15
136 Jan Brueghel the Elder and Hendrick de Clerck / CAT. NO. 16
140 Jan Brueghel the Elder and Hendrick van Balen / CAT. NOS. 17-21
166 Peter Paul Rubens and Frans Snyders / CAT. NOS. 22-24
186 Jan Brueghel the Elder / CAT. NOS. 25-28
208 Peter Paul Rubens / CAT. NO. 29
215 Brueghel and Rubens at Work:
Technique and the Practice of Collaboration
TIARNA DOHERTY, MARK LEONARD, AND J0RGEN WADUM
252 Literature
267 Index
273 Photography Credits
274 About the Authors

Foreword
these paintings provide a rare opportunity to examine
ETER PAUL RUBENS AND JAN BRUEGHEL THE ELDER
P
were the two most famous painters in Antwerp at the the process by which artists in the Netherlands worked
beginning of the seventeenth century. A prolific land­ collaboratively.
scape and still-life painter, Jan "Velvet" Brueghel was the The genesis of the exhibition lies in the concurrent inter­
senior of the two by nine years and renowned for his remark­ ests of the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Royal Picture
ably meticulous and jewel-like paintings. Rubens was an Gallery Mauritshuis. The Getty Museum's purchase in 2000
ambitious painter of altarpieces and erudite mythological and of a previously unknown painting, The Return from War:
historical subjects in which he recast antique and Renaissance Mars Disarmed by Venus, in which Rubens revised his col­
sources. Both painters served the regents of the Southern league's work, coincided with the completion of a thorough
Netherlands, Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella. restoration and technical investigation of the Mauritshuis's
More personally, they were also close friends. Together, the renowned Garden of Eden with the Fall ofMan, in which
two artists produced beautiful and richly allusive composi­ the order of work between the two artists was quite different.
tions, uniting their distinctive brushwork and individual Subsequent discussions between our institutions centered
visual modes in highly sought-after paintings. In an era when on the fundamental questions addressed in this catalogue:
it was common for artists to specialize and for more than In which studio did their joint compositions originate?
one painter to contribute to the execution of a work, the Was their approach consistent throughout the period of their
conceptual partnership of Rubens and Brueghel—which collaboration? How did they work together on these panels
joined artists of equal status, who were united by friendship and for whom were they painted? What emerges is a complex,
and respect—was rare and redefined the widespread practice reciprocal relationship in which a painting could originate
of collaboration. with either artist, one in which Jan Brueghel, contrary to
Rubens and Brueghel: A Working friendship is the first conventional belief, was often the generating force.
international loan exhibition devoted to the collaborative The exhibition and catalogue likewise represent a fruitful
works of Rubens and Brueghel and their working method. collaboration between our institutions and among their
Assembled here are the most important works of their part­ respective curatorial, conservation, and scientific departments.
nership, from the early war themes, to mythological land­ Scott Schaefer, curator of paintings, and Anne Woollett,
scapes and allegories, to the iconic paintings of the Madonna associate curator, at the J. Paul Getty Museum, devised the
and Child in a flower garland. Also included are a select concept and selected the exhibition together with Peter van
group of works that Rubens and Brueghel executed together der Ploeg, chief curator, and Ariane van Suchtelen, curator,
with other collaborators, notably Hans Rottenhammer, of the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis. Anne Woollett
Hendrick de Clerck, Hendrick van Balen, and Frans Snyders. contributed the essay exploring the artistic partnership of
They highlight the development of significant compositions Rubens and Brueghel and its context and a number of
in the distinctive oeuvres of both artists and reveal the the catalogue entries, the majority of which were written by
dynamic roles each played in other partnerships. Together, Ariane van Suchtelen. Tiarna Doherty, associate conservator,
ix