St. Albert of Louvain
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
34.7 × 45.8 cm (13 5/8 × 18 in.); Framed: 58.5 × 69.3 × 6.4 cm (23 × 27 1/4 × 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
painting
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
28874
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Peter Paul Rubens executed this study and 38 more as he prepared to decorate the ceiling of the Jesuit church in Antwerp. He presented such highly finished sketches to his patrons as proposals for major projects. This work shows a dramatically foreshortened saint gliding majestically on a cloud. The bold perspective would have furthered the illusion that the painting was a window in the ceiling of the church, offering a view to the open sky above. The man depicted here is the 12th-century martyr...
About the Artist
Peter Paul Rubens · 1577–1640
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) stands as the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition and the greatest exponent of Baroque painting's dynamism, vitality, and sensuous exuberance. Born in Siegen, Westphalia, and raised in Antwerp, Rubens received a humanist education studying Latin and classical literature before pursuing artistic training under three masters: Tobias Verhaecht, Adam ...