Rubens House exhibits rare drawing and handwritten letter by Rubens
The King Baudouin Foundation has acquired an “exceptional and rare” work by Peter Paul Rubens at the TEFAF Maastricht art fair. The work has been placed on loan with the Rubens House and is on display from Tuesday in the Rubens Experience.
The double-sided sheet dates from September 1607, during Rubens’ stay in Italy. One side features a drawing of three men “in classical robes”, believed to be studies for apostles. On the reverse is a draft letter written in Italian to fellow painter Cristoforo Roncalli.
In the letter, Rubens refers to a commission from Eleonora de' Medici, Duchess of Mantua, while he was serving as court painter there between 1600 and 1608.
According to the foundation, the work is particularly valuable because surviving documents from Rubens’ Italian period are scarce, despite the importance of those years in shaping his artistic development and diplomatic career. Curators say the drawing and letter together offer new insight into Rubens’ activities in Rome around 1607, when he also worked as an art adviser.
The combination of a sketch and handwritten letter on the same sheet is exceptionally rare. Hundreds of Rubens' letters survive worldwide, but very few are held in Belgium, and only one other known example combining a drawing and letter exists, in Christchurch.
The King Baudouin Foundation acquired the work for 110,000 euros after negotiations with the art dealer, who had initially asked 145,000 euros.
Until now, the Rubens House collection contained only two autograph drawings and ten letters by Rubens, all from a later period. The newly acquired sheet will remain on display in the Rubens Experience for six months: the drawing will be shown first, after which the sheet will be turned over so visitors can view the letter.
Rubens’ historic home in Antwerp remains closed for extensive restoration and renovation works until at least 2030, although the garden and a new reception building are due to reopen earlier. Once the museum reopens, the work will be given a permanent place in the collection.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO RUBENSHUIS
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