Fine Canvas Art Blog

Descent from the Cross by Peter Paul Rubens, 1611

Dutch / Inspirational prints / Paintings (Reproductions) / Renaissance - 1 year ago - troycapc

This is a reproduction of Peter Paul Rubens’ “Descent From the Cross” of 1611. The original is in the Antwerp Cathedral. It was commissioned by the Arquebusiers, Antwerp’s Civil Guard as Ruben’s second great altarpieces for the Cathedral which was being re-decorated after the Calvinist expulsion from the city in 1585. As is typical of this period, Rubens shows elements of Venetian design and composition and lighting influenced by Caravaggio. In this center panel of a triptych Joseph of Arimatheo, Nicodemus, St. John and two servants are depicted lowering Christ’s body while they are assisted by the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. Peter Paul Rubens was born in 1580, the son of a Dutch diplomat. As a teenager he was allowed to follow his desire to become a painter and became an apprentice to increasingly distinguished Antwerp artists. At the age of twenty he set off to Italy with his first pupil and constant travelling companion. He became attached to the court of Mantua and fell under the influence of Titian, Tintoretto and Carracci while in Rome. He had his first public commissions and was sent on a diplomatic mission to Spain. He continued to produce paintings for the Mantuese court as well as for outside commissions. He returned to Antwerp in 1608 and immediately became incredibly successful. He married and built a house that became the pride of Antwerp. The Spanish rulers used Rubens as a diplomat between 1621 and 1630 after which he retired to Antwerp where he died in 1640.

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