The Rubenshuis can now add this extraordinary work by Flanders’ most famous artist
to its collection thanks to a long-term loan from the King Baudouin Foundation. It will
be on display from 19 May 2026 in the Rubens Experience, the interactive exhibition
space that opened in the museum in 2024.
On the front, Rubens captured three men in classical robes in a quick, spontaneous
sketch. In all likelihood, these are studies of apostles. The drawing, with its loose,
confident linework, bears a unique witness to his artistic process. He probably traced
the jagged, thick ink lines at the top to test his quill pen.
The overleaf features a draft letter in Italian by Rubens. The letter is addressed to
another painter, Cristoforo Roncalli, also known as il Pomarancio. The letter sheds
light on Rubens’s role as a mediator and advisor in the artistic networks of his time.
He refers to Eleonora de’ Medici, the influential Duchess of Mantua and his and
Roncalli’s patron. Rubens was employed as a court painter in Mantua from 1600 to
1608.
Autograph drawings and letters by Rubens are very scarce and rarely offered for
sale. This work is all the more special because the sheet combines not one but two
autograph expressions by the artist. Moreover, preserved documents from his Italian
period (1600-1608), a crucial phase in Rubens’s artistic development, are very rare.
The two sides of this sheet also fill a gap in our knowledge of Rubens’s artistic and
diplomatic practice around 1607, when he was also employed as an art advisor in
Rome.
The sheet provides an intimate insight into Rubens’s creative process, highlights his
international networks, and recalls the important role of female art patrons, such as
Eleonora de’ Medici, in 17th-century art production.
With this acquisition, an important work of art and document is returned to Belgium.
Currently, only a limited number of Rubens’ drawings are in Belgian public
collections. For the Rubenshuis, the acquisition of this work represents a significant
enrichment of the collection: to date, the museum holds just two autograph drawings
and ten letters by Rubens, of a later date. The new work will play a key role in
deepening our knowledge of Rubens’s early creative practice and his international
network.
Main image: Peter Paul Rubens, Drie mannen in klassieke gewaden © Rubenshuis
