Click on a heading in the left frame to view a group of oil sketches relating to a particular theme, or select a thumbnail to see and read more about an individual work. Texts are adapted from the exhibition catalog. Purchase the catalog.

Introduction The Church Triumphant Rubens as Entrepreneur: Designs for Sculpture, Architecture and Prints History and Politics: Glory to the Hero The Workings of the Studio: Head Studies, Portrait and Genre Myth and Majesty: The Humanistic Tradition Landscape and Hunt Scenes: Projects for Philip IV The Workings of the Studio: Head Studies, Portrait and Genre This section gathers head studies and unfinished compositional sketches to explore the workings of the artist's studio. Rubens made many head studies from live models. These sketches were not created for a specific, finished painting, but rather kept on hand in the studio as a visual resource for adding realistically observed figures to future compositions. Peter Paul Rubens Head of a Youth, 1601-1602 Oil on paper, mounted on panel, 34.9 x 23.4 cm Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Suida Manning Collection, 1999, acc. No. 507.1999 About this work Peter Paul Rubens Head of a Young Warrior, ca. 1614-15 Oil on panel, 50.8 x 41.5 cm Private collection About this work Peter Paul Rubens Head of a Negro, ca. 1618-20 Oil on panel, 45.7 x 36.8 cm The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York, inv. 1971.40 About this work Peter Paul Rubens Studies for Figures in a Larder, ca. 1630-33 Oil on panel, 20.3 x 28.2 cm Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, inv. 5146 About this work Peter Paul Rubens Sketch for a Portrait of a Family (Peter Paul Rubens and Hélène Fourment, with Nicolaas and Clara Johanna Rubens), ca. 1632 Oil on panel, 35.5 x 38.2 cm Philadelphia Museum of Art: John G. Johnson Collection, 1917, inv. J#622 About this work

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