Rubens

»Like no artist before him, Rubens created and brought to life worlds that continue to excite us. His art is full of special effects. Forms and colours seem to explode, to burst forth from his paintings. Pop Art. He sees everything with new eyes, the cosmos, mankind, their actions. Rubens quits nature and creates abstract spaces. His theatrical sense of drama recalls the cinema and he peoples this new baroque stage with heroes, deities and animals. This artist has the power to surprise us. With paintings that are capable of anything: they tell both of lovers and of pain and rage, they bring to life monstrous creatures and goddesses of beauty. He is a star. Rubens is coming!«

Stefan Weppelmann, Director of the Picture Gallery

Using these extrinsic formulae as his starting point he evolved his own ideas, expressing them in rapidly executed, amazingly modern pen drawings, which, in turn, served as the basis for his more elaborate oil sketches. In this way Rubens appropriated the art of others in at times surprising ways, turning it into something entirely his own and creating a huge visual reservoir that continually engendered new ideas, so that, for example, the appearance and pose of some classical centaur that Rubens had studied in Rome ends up serving as the model for a depiction of Christ. It is truly amazing how Rubens is able to conflate the Saviour’s figure with that of a composite mythological creature devoured by desire to create a convincing erotic male body. It is such fascinating conflations that form the basis for the powerful emotions generated by Rubens’ works.

However, these sources and transformative processes are generally hidden and are revealed only on closer inspection: in the exhibition visitors are invited to identify and discover these artistic quotes in Rubens’ compositions. By comparing the artist’s model or inspiration and his new creation visitors will be able to appreciate and comprehend Rubens’ unrivalled power to change and re-invent.