The Triptych of St. Ildefonso
1630/32 | Peter Paul Rubens
Isabella Clara Eugenia, the governor of the Netherlands, donated this triptych to the St. Ildefonso Brotherhood in Brussels. It depicts a miracle from the life of the saint: the Virgin Mary appears in heavenly glory and presents him with a chasuble. The scene illustrates Rubens’s talent for connecting sacred with emotionally human aspects to create a wonderful unity. The side panels depict the archduke and his wife, accompanied by their respective patron saints, St. Albert of Louvain and St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
Isabella Clara Eugenia, the governor of the Netherlands, donated this triptych to the St. Ildefonso Brotherhood in Brussels. It depicts a miracle from the life of the saint: the Virgin Mary appears in heavenly glory and presents him with a chasuble. The scene illustrates Rubens’s talent for connecting sacred with emotionally human aspects to create a wonderful unity. The side panels depict the archduke and his wife, accompanied by their respective patron saints, St. Albert of Louvain and St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
Artist:
Peter Paul Rubens (1577 Siegen - 1640 Antwerpen) DNB
Depiction/Person:
Albrecht VII. von Österreich (1599-1621), Herzog von Burgund, spanischer Statthalter der Niederlande (1559 Wiener Neustadt - 1621 Brüssel) DNB
Time:
1630/32
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Flemish
Material/technology:
oak wood
Dimensions:
Mittelteil: middle panel: 352 x 236 cm
wings each: 352 x 109 cm
former wing outsides: 353 x 233 cm
framed: 520 cm × 300 cm × 30 cm
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 678
Provenance
St. Jacob op de Coudenberg, Chapel of the Virgin Mary, Brussels; acquired 1777 from Coudenberg Abbey