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Rubens and His Age is the catalog of a major exhibition of Flemish art treasures from the Hermitage in St Petersburg, presented by the Art Gallery of Ontario. In the early 17th century, the arts of Flanders (the southern provinces of the Netherlands, centered in Antwerp and ruled by Catholic Spain) were dominated by the brilliant Peter Paul Rubens. In paintings that combined northern humanistic detail with the flamboyant expression of the south, Rubens introduced the Baroque style from Italy, where he worked for eight years. Many of the 40 Flemish artists represented in the exhibition were his students; all were influenced by him. Besides monumental religious masterpieces, the exhibition includes penetrating portraits by van Dyck and Jordaens and scenes of daily life. Sixty luxurious objets d'art from the Hermitage collections, from golden goblets to ivory sculptures--several commissioned or designed by Rubens--give a wider aesthetic context to the paintings. Rubens had an encyclopedic knowledge of classical art and literature, and many of his subjects are complex allegories. These are explained for us in informative catalog entries that analyze the symbolism and iconography of the paintings. Lively essays by art historian Christine Goettler and curators from the Hermitage discuss the environment that produced Flemish art. Well designed and beautifully printed, presenting material not seen in the West for two centuries, Rubens and His Age is both an attractive art book and an important addition to Baroque studies. --John Stevenson
From Library Journal
This catalog of an Art Gallery of Ontario exhibition of Flemish masterpieces from the State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg is a useful addition to the literature on Flemish art. Christiane Gottler (art history, Univ. of Washington) provides an overview of 17th-century Flanders, and brief essays by Hermitage curators discuss paintings by Rubens and his followers, paintings by other Flemish masters, drawings, and decorative arts. Each work is illustrated in color (rather dead and overall too orange in most cases), with catalog entries aimed more at the scholar than the general reader. Nevertheless, this book documents a very rich part of the Hermitage Museum collection (much of it gathered by Catherine the Great, with many objects from Rubens's own collection) that merits close study. The drawings and decorative arts that form about a third of the exhibition have not been widely accessible. For advanced art history collections. Jack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago Lib.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
