【National Museum of Western Art】 "Rubens Exhibition – Birth of Baroque", Introduction of Highlights

"Crash of Paeton" Paeter · Paul · Rubens 1604/05 Oil on canvas / Canvas
Washington, National Gallery Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

At the National Museum of Western Art, "Rubens Exhibition – The Birth of Baroque" will be held from October 16 (Tue) 2018 to January 20 (Sun) 2019. We introduce the exhibition composition and attractions of this exhibition.

About Rubens

The name of Peter, Paul Rubens (1577-1640) is known in Japan by the cartoon "Dog of Flanders." It is the creator of the altarpiece of the Virgin Cathedral, which the hero's Nero Boy keeps seeing at first sight, in the final round he can be sold with his dog Patrasche.

Rubens was a painter of 17th century Europe, a magnificent and spectacular art style called Baroque, prospered and was later called "King of Painters as King's Painter" later. He studied in Italy, the center of baroque art, and further influenced Italian young painters.

This exhibition will focus on the interactive relationship between Rubens and Italy. It will display Rubens' works with works of ancient sculpture, Italian art of the 16th century preceding him, as well as works of artists from Italy and Baroque from the same era.

Exhibit composition

Chapter 1 Learning about ancient art and Italian art by Rubens
Chapter 2 Saints as Heroes: Religious Paintings and Baroque
Chapter 3 Portrait
Chapter 4 Rubens' brush strokes: vitality the felt pen brings to the screen
5 Hercules and male nude
Chapter 6 Venus and Female Nudity
Chapter 7 Mythical Declaration

· Chapter 1 Learning about ancient art and Italian art by Rubens

We will exhibit Rubens' work by showing ancient sculptures, replication by Rubens of works of the 16th century, and the results of studying works of the preceding era.

"Death of Seneca"

"Death of Seneca" Peeter · Paul · Rubens 1615/16 Oil on canvas / Madrid, Prado Museum © Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

An ancient Roman philosopher Seneca was dressed in a rebellion's wet clothing and ordered the emperor to commit suicide. He chose a method of cutting a blood vessel, putting his feet in a sprung bath, improving the circulation of blood, and advancing the death period.

Seneca was a model philosopher in the intellectual circle of Antwerpen, to which Rubens also belonged. That attitude quoted the famous ancient sculpture as it is, but the head is based on another ancient sculpture that was considered as Seneca statue then. Rubens himself drawn only the head, the rest by the workshop.

"Agrippina and germanics"

"Agrippina and Germanics" Peter · Paul · Rubens · 1614 · Oil paint / board Washington, National Gallery Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Germanics was an ancient Roman royalty and a competent soldier. That wife Agrippina is also an imperial family of ancient Rome, their grandchildren are Emero Nero.

Drawing the two in profile This picture is based on the form of an ancient cameo and tells the admiration for Rubens' ancient art. However, skin and hair are overflowing with animation, it seems that ancient sculpture has been revived.

· Chapter 2 Saints as Heroes: Religious Painting and Baroque

This chapter features religious themes. Rubens gave religious painting a pleasant and classic character. We will show Rubens' work, along with his work and the work of Italy that he influenced.

"Christ mourning"

"Mourning of Christ" Peeter · Paul · Rubens · 1603 Oil on canvas / Canvas Rome, Borghese Museum of Art

Before burying Christ pulled from the cross, Our Ladies gather around the body and grieve. It is said that Rubens arrives in Italy shortly afterwards (there is objection).

The fact that Christ is placed on the sarcophagus implies burial and at the same time symbolizes that the bread and wine sanctified at the altar during the mass changes to the flesh and blood of Christ. Relationship with the Christian interpretation of the philosophy of the store phrase is pointed out in the image depicted in the ancient sarcophagus.

· Chapter 3 Portrait

From portrayal of families and close friends to public portraits, we will exhibit portraits of various personality. You should be able to perceive the breadth of Rubens' portrait expression.

"Two children sleeping"

"Two children sleeping" Paeter · Paul · Rubens 1612 – 13 Oil painting / board Tokyo, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo

The two children are thought of as children of Philips with older brother. Rubens was very close with his older brother, and there was a period when he was living together in Rome. After my brother has become a guardian of my nephew and my niece.

With this picture you will also be able to sense the affection for two young people. However, this picture was drawn to serve as a sample for producing a large work, and there is a work where the same head appears as an angel or an infant Jesus.

"Portrait of Clara Serena Rubens"

"Portrait of Clara, Serena, Rubens" Peter Paul Rubens 1615 – 16 Canvas Vienna lined with oil paint / board, Marquis of Liechtenstein © LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz-Vienna

It is a portrait of Elder daughter Clara Serena born with Rubens' first wife Isabella Brant. The innocent smile that she was about 5 years old at that time tells the intimacy with her father.

In fact she seems to be very close and the sense of physical and psychological distance with the viewer is the attraction of this picture. The fact that Rubens painted this picture as his own enjoyment can be seen from the finish that looks like it is incomplete.

· Chapter 4 Rubens' brush strokes: vitality that a felt pen brings to the screen

This chapter develops in accordance with the word "painter's enthusiasm". This word, written by Rubens' biographers, is a good representation of the lively and dense movement that his work might crop.

"Crash of Paeton"

"Crash of Paeton" Peeter · Paul · Rubens 1604/05 Oil on canvas / Washington, National Gallery Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

It is a favorite subject in the era of Renaissance and Baroque. The son of Apollo of the sun God Paeton asks for a reluctant father and has a sun carriage rushed. But since Paeton became aware of how to manage a horse-drawn carriage, the horses are out of orbit and run away, and the ground starts to burn. Jupiter who heard the petition of the earthly god threw a thunder to Paetton, resulting in the horse-drawn carriage being destroyed and Paeton crashed and died.

This work draws that moment when the thunder was released. Due to many reworks on the screen, Rubens knows that he thought carefully and made a composition.

· Chapter 5 Hercules and male nude

This chapter will focus on male nude. Rubens found an ideal man 's image for ancient sculptures such as "Hercules of Farnese". Many nude men by Italian painters after Rubens will also be exhibited.

· Chapter 6 Venus and Female Nudity

We feature female nude. Here, we will display the ancient sculpture of the whole image of female nude as a theme in the same space as Rubens and painters of Italian painters.

"Venus, Mars and Cupid"

"Venus, Mars and Cupid" Peeter · Paul · Rubens around 1635 Oil on canvas / Canvas London, Darridge Picture Gallery By Permission of the Trustees of Dulwich Picture Gallery.

Venus was love and beauty, God of fertility, Mars was God of war. Cupid is their child, again the god of love. Since the Renaissance, figures that Mars has been disarmed by the beauty and love of Venus have often been portrayed.

Again Mars puts a shield and Cupid behind him is removing the fasteners of the armor. Mars is under Venus and peace is kept, so she is breastfeeding to another cupid with confidence.

· Chapter 7 Mythical Declaration

We will display other mythological subjects drawn by Rubens with ancient sculptures. These works tell us that he was familiar with not only the expression of ancient sculpture but also ancient literature, and he tells us that his modeling is rooted in intelligence.

"Daughters of Cecropus to discover Elktonios"

"Daughters of Cecropus to discover Elktonios" Peter-Paul Rubens 1615 – 16 Oil on canvas Vienna, Liechtenstein's curtain collection © LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz-Vienna

Semen of uracann who failed to commit minerua spilled on the ground, the earth bore and Elrictonios was born. Minellwa put this baby in the basket and said that he should not open it absolutely, and entrusted the three daughters of King of Attica, but one of her sister Aguruuos opens the basket.

In Elktonios who was in the basket there was a snake's tail instead of the foot. The sculpture on the left of the screen represents animal libido, the rightmost sculpture represents the goddess of the earth, symbolizing the beginning of the story. The three sisters seem to have blood passed through ancient sculpture.

"Mars and Rare Sylwia"

"Mars and Rare Sylwia" Peter Paul Rubens 1616-17 Oil on canvas Vienna, Liechtenstein's curtain collection © LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz-Vienna

Princess Leia Sylwia was made a shrine maiden so that no offspring will be born after his father and his brother were murdered by his uncle. However, it is made to be pregnant by Mars God, giving birth to twins. The twins were swept away by the Tiber River, but they were raised by female wolves and woodpeckers. They will eventually be picked up and named Romulus and Remus, and will become founder of Rome legend for a long time.

Normally Mars starts to sleep while Rae Sylwia is asleep on the banks of the fountain, but here the shrine is set in the shrine. Mars, who came on the clouds, got off and Cupid joined the two.

Summary

Exhibition name	Rubens Exhibition – The Birth of Baroque
A session	October 16 (Tuesday) 2018 to January 20 (Sunday) 2019
Venue	National Museum of Western Art Ueno Park 7-7, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Opening hours	9: 30 – 17: 30 (Friday, Saturday until 20 o'clock, but 11/17 is until 17:30) ※ Admission until 30 minutes before closing
closing day	Monday (except 12/24, January 14 is open) 12 / 28-1 / 1, 1/15
Admission fee	General 1,600 yen (1,400 yen), college students 1,200 yen (1,000 yen), high school students 800 yen (600 yen) ※ () in parenthesis · group fee ※ Free from junior high school students
inquiry	03-5777-8600 (Hello dial)
URL	http://www.tbs.co.jp/rubens2018/