Our Lady with the Saints

Our lady with the saints by Peter Paul Rubens is an oil on canvas painting depicting holy people Mary Magdalene, Saint George, Jerome and a group of angles.

The artist painted this religious piece of art in 1634 using baroque style. In the image, Mary (referred to as our lady) is holding baby Jesus and the other saints are admiring the child. Above them is a group of angles, with one holding a flower crown on top of baby Jesus’s head.

All the subjects appear to be standing on top of a tower and there is a city below them. On the ground, there are two unearthly creatures staring at each other, but they seem not to bother the saints.

Current Location

The current location of the painting is at St. James’ Church in Antwerp. The church is also the burial place for Peter Paul Rubens.

Style

Peter Paul Ruben used Baroque style as it was the popular painting style at the time. This style started in Rome around 1600 and spread across Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. The painting style is linked to the Catholic Church as a way of responding to the protestant reformation.

Baroque style is characterised by exaggerated motion of the images and clear detail used to produce drama, grandeur and exuberance. Paintings are rich and deep in colour and contain intense light and dark shadows. The style was also common in other forms of art like music, dance, sculpture and architecture. Its iconography was obvious and dramatic as it had an intention of appealing both senses and emotions. Other painters who used the painting style include Caravaggio and Rembrandt. Caravaggio is also thought to be the precursor of the movement.

Who Influenced Peter Paul Rubens’s Art

Peter Paul’s religious paintings may have been inspired by her catholic faith and the Counter Reformation art of the time. He was also taught to appreciate Classicism art and culture at the Flemish Art School.

Peter Paul’s first teacher, Tobias Verhaecht, also inspired him into landscapes painting. Rubens liked painting landscapes and they were his main art when in finally settled in Antwerp. The Classical painting style of religious subjects by Adam Van Noort, dean of the Guild of St. Luke in Antwerp also had some influence in Ruben’s art.

Another painter who largely influenced Rubens art, especially in subject matter and style is Otto Van Veen. Van Veen Specialised in the antiquity if the Italian Renaissance and did a lot of work for the Royal family in Antwerp.