The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine (Colour Sketch for the Altar of the Church of the Augustinian Fathers in Antwerp), verso: Two Cavalry Battles, Peter Paul Rubens
Peter Paul Rubens
The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine (Colour Sketch for the Altar of the Church of the Augustinian Fathers in Antwerp), verso: Two Cavalry Battles
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This work consists of multiple parts
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realisation

Peter Paul Rubens: Hochaltarbild für die Augustinerkirche in Antwerpen, 1628, Öl auf Leinwand, 564 x 401 cm, Inv.-Nr. IB1958.001, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerpen

Peter Paul Rubens

The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine (Colour Sketch for the Altar of the Church of the Augustinian Fathers in Antwerp), verso: Two Cavalry Battles, 1628


Gesamtmaß
64 x 49.2 x min. 0.5 cm
maximum depth
0.5 cm
Physical Description
Oil on oak
Inventory Number
464
Acquisition
Acquired in 1816 as part of the founder’s bequest
Status
On display, 2nd upper level, Old Masters, room 6

Texts

About the Work

Rubens developed many of his large-scale painting commissions in series of sketches. Painted on both sides, this panel served him in 1627/28 in his preparations for the altarpiece of the Church of the Augustinians in Antwerp. The Frankfurt sketch combines several individual studies in an overall composition for the first time. Badly damaged by a strip of wood glued to it later on, the sketch of a lion hunt on the back was carried out in preparation for the painting cycle executed by Rubens from 1628 onwards for Maria de’ Medici as an apotheosis of Henri IV of France.

About the Acquisition

Art collecting was popular among the well-to-do burghers of Frankfurt during the eighteenth century, but only in the case of the banker and spice merchant Johann Friedrich Städel (1728-1816) did the private art collection end up as an art institute that was open to the public. Städel decreed in his will in 1815 that his collection should be "open for use and inspection by prospective artists and art lovers on specific days and at specific times freely and without charge, under appropriate supervision". He also expressed the wish "that in future the Institute should be expanded through contributions, legacies and gifts by other art lovers and supporters of the fine arts".

Audio & Video

  • Basic information
    01:21
  • Focus on material
    02:15
KunstIStück – Peter Paul Rubens: Die mystische Vermählung der Heiligen Katharina (Entwurf)
Sammlungshighlights des Städel Museums in unterhaltsamen und informativen Filmen – das sind die Kunst|Stücke. Entdecken Sie spannende Details zu Kunstwerken aus ungewöhnlichen Blickwinkeln in unter zwei Minuten. Peter Paul Rubens: Die mystische Vermählung der Heiligen Katharina (Entwurf), 1628, Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/de/werk/die-mystische-vermaehlung-der-heiligen-katharina#yt

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Last update

13.12.2024