The Garden of Love (Rubens)
The Garden of Love is a painting by Rubens, produced in around 1633 and now in the Prado Museum in Madrid. The work was first listed in 1666, when it was hung in the Royal Palace of Madrid, in the Spanish king's bedroom.[1] In early inventories, the painting was called The Garden Party.[2]
It is the apotheosis of the outdoor courtly Merry Company genre painting, and anticipates the French Fête champêtre type of the next century. The subject of this piece is common in Baroque paintings, which used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, and grandeur. Rubens uses multi-layer allegory and symbolism to his paintings.
Description
In this 6.5 ft x 9.4 ft piece, a large group of well-dressed persons in the style of the 17th century lounge about at the edge of an idyllic garden. Everyone is finely dressed, exercising their wealth and high class status. This demonstrates the depth of a full court scene in a recessional manner.[3] Cupids interact with the individuals, bringing mythological figures into a realistic garden scene to produce a fantastical painting.[4]
All around the group, symbols of matrimonial love can be found including: the cupids, a pair of doves, flower crowns, music making, and Juno’s peacock. The dogs represent loyalty and fealty. The garden represents Paradise, but also fertility. This painting is an allegory and exaltation of love and marriage, as well as the merry company.
In the far-left corner, a male gentleman escorts a woman in all-black towards the entourage. The man is believed to be Rubens, which led to the early identification of this painting to be a self-portrait with friends. The Garden of Love is believed to be celebration of his marriage to Rubens’ wife: Hélène Fourment.
Helena Fourment was the second wife of Rubens. She was the subject of a few portraits by Rubens, and modeled for other religious and mythological paintings.
The Fountains
The fountains of the Three Graces and the Venus represent marital happiness. The Three Graces fountains are three Rubenesque nude females—soft bodied, voluptuous, and highly sexualized beings. These forms emphasize fertility and physical beauty, mirroring the beautiful garden scene. Directly below the Graces, an unsuspecting group of individuals getting sprayed by the fountain.[5] The second fountain also depicts a nude female—this time having the nude Venus sitting on the back of a fish and producing a stream of water from her breasts. This is known as the Nursing Venus and is meant to symbolize child bearing and rearing.
This full-figured woman is identified by the peacock to be the goddess Juno, who is the goddess of marriage. Rubens plays on recognizable themes that his contemporary audience would recognize.
Influence
Rubens’ merry company was influenced by Adriaen Brouwer, a Baroque Flemish artist, who painted intensely naturalistic merry company genre scenes. While only 60 works of his are known, Brouwer’s work influenced the next generation of Flemish and Dutch genre painters. Brouwer painted atmospheric landscapes, painted with loose brushstrokes—the influence of this style can be seen in Rubens' piece.
References
- ^ Volk, "Rubens in Madrid and the Decoration of the King's Summer Apartments," 513.
- ^ Films Media Group, "Peter Paul Rubens the Garden of Love," 1.
- ^ Russell, "The Problem of Style in Costume Design," 559.
- ^ Films Media Group, "Peter Paul Rubens the Garden of Love," 2.
- ^ Films Media Group, "Peter Paul Rubens the Garden of Love," 4.
Bibliography
- Burchard, Wolfgang. "The 'Garden of Love' by Rubens." The Burlington Magazine 105, no. 727 (1963): 428-426.
- Films Media Group and Films for the Humanities. Peter Paul Rubens the Garden of Love. New York, N.Y: Films Media Group, 1985.
- Goodman, Elise. "Rubens's Conversatie La Mode: Garden of Leisure, Fashion, and Gallantry." The Art Bulletin 64, no. 2 (1982): 247-259.
- (in German) Rose-Marie und Rainer Hagen: Bildbetrachtungen – Meisterwerke im Detail, Benedikt Taschen Verlag, Köln 1994
- Russell, Douglas. "The Problem of Style in Costume Design." Educational Theatre Journal 20, no. 4 (1968): 545-562.
- Volk, Mary Crawford. "Rubens in Madrid and the Decoration of the King's Summer Apartments." The Burlington Magazine 123, no. 942 (1981): 513-529.
- Zeri, Federico, Marco Dolcetta, Elena Mazour, and Raman A. Montanaro. Rubens, Garden of Love. Richmond Hill, Ont: NDE Pub, 1999.
External links
- http://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/online-gallery/on-line-gallery/obra/the-garden-of-love/
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- The Descent from the Cross (Siegen; 1600–1602)
- Leda and the Swan (1601, 1602)
- The Deposition (1602)
- Self-Portrait in a Circle of Friends from Mantua (1602–1605)
- Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma (1603)
- Portrait of a Young Woman (1603)
- Hercules and Omphale (1603)
- Heraclitus and Democritus (1603)
- Virgin and Child (c. 1604)
- The Fall of Phaeton (c. 1604/1605)
- The Baptism of Christ (1604–1605)
- The Gonzaga Family in Adoration of the Holy Trinity (1604–1605)
- Transfiguration (1604–1605)
- The Circumcision (1605)
- Portrait of Marchesa Brigida Spinola-Doria (1606)
- Portrait of Maria di Antonio Serra (1606)
- Portrait of a Noblewoman with an Attendant (1606)
- Portrait of Giovanni Carlo Doria on Horseback (1606)
- Madonna della Vallicella (1606–1608)
- Susanna and the Elders (1607)
- The Head of Saint John the Baptist Presented to Salome (c. 1609)
- Adoration of the Magi (Madrid; 1609 and 1628–29)
- Samson and Delilah (1609–1610)
- Honeysuckle Bower (1609–1610)
- Coronation of the Virgin (1609–1611)
- Juno and Argus (1610)
- Raising of the Cross (1610–1611)
- Conversion of Saint Paul (London; 1610–1612)
- Massacre of the Innocents (c. 1611)
- Venus Frigida (1611)
- Prometheus Bound (1611–1612)
- The Four Philosophers (1611–1612)
- Antwerp Resurrection (1611–1612)
- Visitation (c. 1611–1615)
- Roman Charity (1612)
- Ecce Homo (1612)
- Descent from the Cross (Antwerp; 1612–1614)
- Saint Teresa of Ávila's Vision of the Holy Spirit (Rotterdam; 1612–1614)
- Saint Teresa of Ávila's Vision of the Holy Spirit (Cambridge; c. 1614)
- The Tribute Money (1612–1614)
- The Defeat of Sennacherib (1612–1614)
- The Four Continents (1610s)
- Christ Giving the Keys to Saint Peter (1612–1614)
- Portrait of a Commander (1613)
- The Crowning of the Virtuous Hero (1613–1614)
- The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (1613–1615)
- The Death of Adonis (1614)
- Venus and Adonis (1614)
- St Sebastian (c. 1614)
- The Virgin Mary and Saint Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger (c. 1614)
- Madonna della Cesta (1615)
- Ixion, King of the Lapiths, Deceived by Juno, Who He Wished to Seduce (1615)
- Daniel in the Lions' Den (1615)
- Bacchanalia (c. 1615)
- A Statue of Ceres (c. 1615)
- The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt (1615–1616)
- The Tiger Hunt (1615–1616)
- Theodosius and Saint Ambrose (1615–1616)
- The Wild Boar Hunt (1615–1617)
- Florence Resurrection (1616)
- The Virgin and Child Surrounded by the Holy Innocents (1616)
- Erichthonius Discovered by the Daughters of Cecrops (c. 1616)
- The Wolf and Fox Hunt (c. 1616)
- The Lion and Leopard Hunt (c. 1616)
- Romulus and Remus (1615–1616)
- Miracles of St. Francis Xavier (1616–1617)
- Saint Stephen Triptych (1616–1617)
- Two Women with a Candle (1616–1617)
- Descent from the Cross (Lille; 1616–1617)
- The Meeting Between Abraham and Melchizedek (1616–1617)
- Christ and the Penitent Sinners (1617)
- Mars and Rhea Silvia (1617)
- The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (1617)
- The Great Last Judgement (1617)
- A Bearded Man (c. 1617–18)
- Adoration of the Magi (Lyon; 1617–1618)
- The Five Senses (1617–1618)
- Two Satyrs (1618)
- Medusa (1618)
- The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus (c. 1618)
- Christ Triumphant over Sin and Death (c. 1618)
- The Prodigal Son (1618)
- The Union of Earth and Water (c. 1618)
- Tigress with Her Cubs (attributed; 1618)
- Mucius Scaevola before Lars Porsenna (c. 1618–1620)
- Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee (1618–1620)
- The Wild Boar Hunt (1618–1620)
- St Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy (1619–1620)
- The Small Last Judgement (1619)
- Conversion of Saint Paul (1620s)
- The Fall of the Damned (c. 1620)
- Landscape with Philemon and Baucis (c. 1620)
- Portrait of a Young Man in Armor (c. 1620)
- Saint George and the Dragon (c. 1620)
- Perseus Freeing Andromeda (1620)
- Saints Dominic and Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger (1620)
- The Rape of Orithyia by Boreas (1620)
- Christ on the Cross (1620)
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- Portrait of Susanna Lunden (1622)
- Perseus and Andromeda (c. 1622)
- The History of Constantine (1622–1625)
- Self-Portrait (1623)
- The Conversion of Saint Bavo (1623–1624)
- Diana and Her Nymphs Leaving for the Hunt (1623–1624)
- Adoration of the Magi (Antwerp; 1624)
- The Reconciliation of Esau and Jacob (1624)
- Christ Appointing Saint Roch as Patron Saint of Plague Victims (1623–1626)
- Portrait of Infante Isabella Clara Eugenia (1625)
- Portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (c. 1625)
- Assumption of the Virgin (Antwerp; 1625–1626)
- Angelica and the Hermit (c. 1626–1628)
- Henry IV at the Battle of Ivry (1627)
- The Triumphal Entry of Henry IV into Paris (1627)
- The Annunciation (1627–1628)
- The Fall of Man (1628–1629)
- The Rape of Europa (1628–1629)
- Minerva Protecting Peace from Mars (1629–1630)
- Cimon and Pero (1630)
- Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (c. 1630)
- The Crowning of Saint Catherine (1631)
- The Ildefonso Altarpiece (1630–1631)
- Last Supper (1630–1631)
- Odysseus on the Island of the Phaecians (1630–1635)
- The Finding of Erichthonius (1632–1634)
- The Rainbow Landscape (Saint Petersburg; 1632–1635)
- The Garden of Love (c. 1633)
- Adoration of the Magi (Cambridge; 1634)
- Bathsheba at the Fountain (c. 1635)
- The Dance of the Villagers (1635)
- Helena Fourment with Her Son Frans (1635)
- Venus and Adonis (New York; 1635)
- The Triumph of the Church (1635)
- The Feast of Venus (1635–1636)
- Deucalion and Pyrrha (1636–1637)
- The Feast of Herod (1635–1638)
- The Village Fête (1635–1638)
- Mercury and Argus (1635–1638)
- Hercules's Dog Discovers Purple Dye (c. 1636)
- Helena Fourment with Children (1636)
- A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning (1636)
- Saturn (1636)
- The Rainbow Landscape (London; 1636)
- Pallas and Arachne (1636–1637)
- Het Pelsken (1636–1638)
- Assumption of the Virgin (Vienna; c. 1637)
- The Birth of the Milky Way (c. 1637)
- Consequences of War (c. 1638)
- Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides / Deianira Listens to Fame (1638)
- The Three Graces (Madrid; 1636–1638)
- The Rape of Ganymede (1636–1638)
- Diana and Callisto (1637–1638)
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- Bacchus (1638–1640)
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- The Rainbow Landscape (Munich; 1640)
- Judgment of Paris (various)
- The History of Constantine (1622–1640) (with Pietro da Cortona)
- Palazzi di Genova (1622)
- Rubens family
- Isabella Brant (first wife)
- Helena Fourment (second wife)
- Nicolaas Rubens, Lord of Rameyen (son)
- Albert Rubens (son)
- Jan Rubens (father)
- Maria Pypelinckx (mother)
- Philip Rubens (brother)
- Tobias Verhaecht (teacher)
- Adam van Noort (teacher)
- Otto van Veen (teacher)
- Nicolaas Rockox (friend)
- Poussinists and Rubenists
- Rubens (1977 film)
- Rubenesque
- Rubens' Europe (exhibition)