St. Albert of Louvain

JPG • 2953 × 2250 PX • 1.1 MB
Curatorial Notes

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 Albert of Louvain, patron saint of Archduke Albert, governor of the Spanish Netherlands.

Artwork Identification

Title St. Albert of Louvain
Title (PT) Santo Alberto de Louvain
Title (ES) San Alberto de Lovaina
Artist Peter Paul Rubens
Artist Bio Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640)
Date 1620
Work Type Painting

Location & Collection

License Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0
Ars Sancta