Rembrandt vs. Rubens

Andrew Ulrich
Prof. Hutson
ART 38716-ART IN THE AGE OF REMBRANDT AND RUBENS
1/22/15

Peter Paul Rubens and Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn were two of the most famous and successful painters in 17th century Europe. Rubens was a Flemish Baroque painter and was admirably recognized for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, landscapes and historical paintings of mythological characters. Rembrandt was a Dutch painter and printmaker, who was also known for his etching. His greatest successes are told through his portraits of the people who surrounded his life, his self-portraits and paintings of scenes in the Bible. Both artists received a traditional education and then continued their education with several apprenticeships to learn the basics of art and painting. These artists were treated with immense success in the 17th century, especially considering the amount of turmoil that was happening with the ‘Eighty Year War’ happening all around them. The journey to success contained personal triumphs and setbacks for both artists, albeit each journey was draped with divergence. The differences between upbringing and lifestyle of each artist led to a different approach to their paintings as well as a different style of art in general. One main difference between artists is that Rubens chose to travel to Italy to study Italian art and culture, Rembrandt elected to stay-put in Amsterdam to continue his studies. This factor, as well as many other differences in their lifestyles, directed the route of their success vastly. We will be discussing the factors throughout their life that have altered the journey of success for both artists to see how the different approaches led to success.
Peter Paul Rubens was born on June 28th, 1577 in Siegen, Westphalia to Jan Rubens and Maria Pypelincks. His father was, at the time, exiled from Antwerp, Belgium due to the suspicion of adultery. Jan was eventually pardoned, so they moved to Cologne for a few years. After his father died, Rubens moved back to Antwerp with his mother in 1587 to continue his education. “At age 14, Rubens started an apprenticeship with Tobias Verhaeght. He also started training with Adam van Noort and Otto van Veen. The majority of his early training involved copying other artists’ work. In 1598, Rubens entered the Guild of St. Luke as an independent master, once he finished his education.” Although he was starting off successful, his parents were not pleased about the path he was heading towards. A popular custom of young artists in this time period was to travel to Italy to study Italian art, which is exactly what Rubens did in 1600. It is said that his travels are one of the main influences of his artistry. He studied Renaissance masters as Titian and Tintoretto in Venice, and Raphael and Michelangelo in Rome. Rubens was able to travel for eight years at the expense of the Duke Vincenzo I Gonzaga of Mantua. It was then, that he became a diplomat for the Duke, because he was classical educated, spoke several languages, and it helped that he was a painter. He was sent to several places to study the art and delegate on behalf of the Gonzaga’s as to which art to purchase. In Italy, he took in the beauty of the traditional sculpture and many works of Italian artists such as Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Correggio, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, and Annibale Carracci. He spent much of his travels, studying and copying these artists’ work. “Rubens gazed again and again at the vault of the Sistine Chapel, in order to record worthily those simulations of gigantic sculpture frescoed aloft, the Prophets and the Sibyls. His St. Jerome in his study, a painting of 1609-10, reflects those gazings.” Rubens used the impressions he gained from his trip to Italy throughout the majority of his own work. The progression of his talents were seen throughout his art from this time period. “Before the end of 1608, when he returned to Antwerp, he had painted some of the most important altarpieces in Genoa, Rome, and elsewhere in Italy. This experience provided the groundwork for his extraordinary output of religious pictures during the next fifteen years in Antwerp, which he managed by organizing a large workshop of pupils and assistants.” Rubens traveled back to Antwerp in 1608, upon hearing about the illness of his mother. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it back in time to see her before she died. Ruben was then appointed to court painter for the Archduke and Archduchess, Albert and Isabella of Brussels. They offered to let him work from his own studio in Antwerp and take on his own clients, as long as he would continue to work for them. For the next 11 years, Rubens worked in Antwerp to build his portfolio of work with the skills he learned in Italy. He taught several apprentices during this time as well. His most famous apprentice, Anthony van Dyck became the leading Flemish portraitist, who continued to work with Rubens as the years passed.
“Rubens received a prestigious commission to paint two large religious works, The Raising of the Cross and the Descent from the Cross, for Antwerp Cathedral between 1610 and 1614. In addition to many projects for Roman Catholic churches, Rubens also created paintings with historical and mythological scenes during these years, as well as hunting scenes like "Wolf and Fox Hunt" (circa 1615-21).” In 1621, the queen of France, Marie de' Medici, hired Rubens to paint two works of art to celebrate her life, as well as her late husband Henry IV to be on display in the Luxembourg Palace in Paris. “After the end of the Twelve Years' Truce in 1621, the Spanish Habsburg rulers entrusted Rubens with a number of diplomatic missions. Between 1627 and 1630, Rubens's diplomatic career was particularly active, and he moved between the courts of Spain and England in an attempt to bring peace between the Spanish Netherlands and the United Provinces.” In 1624 Rubens was knighted by Philip IV of Spain and then again in 1630 by Charles I of England. Rubens was also given an honorary Master of Arts degree from Cambridge University in 1629.

In 1629, Rubens traveled to London, where he created the Allegory of Peace and War. He continued to do work for international patrons as his success progressed, but also created special paintings for his local patrons with the help of his pupils. One of the most popular works of this time is The Assumption of the Virgin Mary, which was made for the Cathedral of Antwerp. At this time, his first wife died and he married his 16 year old niece, Helene Fourment-who is said to have inspired many of the voluptuous women in his paintings in the 1630s. Rubens died in 1640 due to heart failure. “He left behind eight children as well as numerous studio assistants, some of whom—most notably Anthony van Dyck—went on to have successful artistic careers of their own.”
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on July 15th 1606 to a wealthy family in the Netherlands. Harmen van Rijn and Neeltje van Zuytbrouck had 8 children before him and they resided in the town of Leiden for his entire life. It has been said that Neeltje was Roman Catholic and his father, Harmen was a member of the Dutch reformed church. Rembrandt’s paintings showed Christianity beliefs with the storylines as well as style. Rembrandt started painting at Leiden University as a 16 year old, even though his parents were not especially excited about his choice of study. The first painter that he studied under was Jacob van Swanenburgh (1571–1638). It was through van Swanenburgh that Rembrandt learned basic painting skills. “Van Swanenburgh specialized in scenes of hell and the underworld, and his ability to paint fire and the way its light reflects on surrounding objects was likely an influence on Rembrandt’s later work.” Next, Rembrandt was taught by Pieter Lastman (1583–1633), from Amsterdam, who was known for painting historical pieces and ideally helped Rembrandt to get more comfortable with the genre. Lastman is also attributed to teaching Rembrandt to use light to add depth to his scenes, which Rembrandt is greatly famous for. Unlike most up and coming artists in the 17th century, Rembrandt never went abroad, but he eagerly studied the work of Northern artists who had lived in Italy, like Lastman, the Utrecht painter Gerrit van Honthorst, Anthony van Dyck, and—mostly through prints—Adam Elsheimer and Peter Paul Rubens. “However, a crucial aspect of Rembrandt's development was his intense study of people, objects, and their surroundings "from life," as is obvious in paintings like his early self-portraits and the Saint Paul in Prison of 1627.” It was around this time when “Rembrandt's style soon took an innovative turn involving his use of light. His most famous characteristics are thick paintings and heavy brush strokes. He used the handle of his brush to exemplify details into his paintings. His new style left large areas of his paintings obscured in shadow; through his interpretation, illumination grew rapidly weaker as it extended into the painting, creating spots of brightness and pockets of deep darkness.” This new style is seen in Rembrandt’s Judas Repentant and Returning the Pieces of Silver, as well as Peter and Paul Disputing. Rembrandt liked to use light and shadows to draw focus towards certain areas of his work to bring the viewers’ attention to what was necessary. In 1634, Rembrandt married Saskia van Uylenburgh after meeting her through her cousin, the Mennonite art dealer-Hendrick Uylenburgh. He became a burgess of Amsterdam, as well as a member of the local painters’ guild. Rembrandt also became a successful teacher to many artists who eventually became almost as famous as he; such as, Gerrit Dou, Govert Flinck, Ferdinand Bol, Nicolaes Maes, and Carel Fabritius. Rembrandt and Saskia moved into an up and coming neighborhood in 1635, after Rembrandt began to see great success. The house came with a rather large mortgage and a high interest rate-which would later, cause financial issues for Rembrandt. He would experience other personal setbacks within the next few years. Saskia gave birth to a baby boy who would die just 2 short months after birth. They would have two other children who passed away within the first month of life. Their only living child, Titus would survive until he was 27 years old. Saskia passed away in 1642 due to suspected Tuberculosis. Rembrandt painted many works of her before she died and it is said that the paintings of her on her deathbed are to be his most emotionally stimulating works of art. In 1660, he was forced to sell his house and printing press to feign off bankruptcy. Unfortunately, Rembrandt died a little over a year later due to unknown circumstances.
After learning about these artists’ backgrounds, it is obvious that their different paths on their journey to mastering the skills, have caused each artists’ divergent demeanor in painting. One of the main differences in their lives is that Rubens spent 8 years studying abroad in Italy to better his career. “As a young man, Rubens worked systematically to further his career.” Rubens studied many masters of art while he was in Italy and in turn, began to copy their work as he began to build his skill set. He would copy their work, but then add more detail to his piece. He was greatly inspired by Tintoretto and Titian, and you can see bits of those impressions throughout all of his pieces. At the beginning of his career, Rubens used a cool palette for most of his paintings. As time would pass, the colors warmed up and his brushwork became sketchier. The figures looked fleshier and less ceramic. One of the most discussed characteristics of Rubens’ work, is the almost superhuman-like body shapes of his subjects. He wanted his viewers to feel a sense of superiority from the painting. “Rubens thought of antiquity as a Golden Age of physical well-being when men and women were bigger and stronger, fed by fluids responding to the warmth of activity. It was this assumed superiority, after all, which gave Rubens his rationale for the imitation of ancient sculpture.” This theme is seen especially in his piece The Hercules Farnese. Rubens did some work in portraits, but mostly preferred to work in historical paintings like biblical scenes or allegories. In his later years, he added a little more focus on portraits and landscapes.
Rembrandt’s work is known to be mostly based off of his own features, but “he also portrayed people from his immediate surroundings.” This is shown in his etching titled Rembrandt’s mother with her hand on her chest. It is said that her name isn’t actually on the print, but there is a striking resemblance between that print and another one done by an artist from that time period. This is a common issue with Rembrandt’s etches, as he did not begin to put his name on his work until several years after he began working. Rembrandt the style of painter, Pieter Lastman from Amsterdam, rather than traveling to Italy like most 17th century art students did. Instead of copying the work of earlier masters, like Rubens did, Rembrandt used his mentors for impressions. It was from Lastman that Rembrandt learned the skill of using light and darkness to create shadows and depth into his work. This would end up being one of Rembrandt’s most prominent features in his art. He imitated Lastman’s lively gestures in his work as well. He would cast shadows on parts of the painting to draw more attention to the lighted part of the piece to direct the viewers’ attention to what he thought was important.
Both artists used a two-canvas system, where the first copy is called a “state”. How they went about beginning the first state varied completely on which artist is in reference. Rubens used his characteristic “streaky gray priming in an aqueous medium to create an illusion of space and imparts a vibrating luminosity to the over layers.” Rembrandt simply used the oils to portray light and shadows on the second state to create luminosity, like mentioned above. “Sometimes Rubens used an oil sketch as the first draft of a composition, but as a rule he began the creative process with a quick pen sketch on paper perhaps a very small abbreviated grisaille sketch in oil on panel.” However, Rembrandt never used a colored oil sketch for a large project, especially on the first draft. Rubens was considered to be very cautious when planning his work, almost always using theory to put his pieces together. “Rembrandt, however, was not a systemic planner; he relied on a more intuitive approach that allowed him to realize his conception through the actual act of painting, at times making radical compositional changes during the process.”
It was said that Rubens’ confidence was dauntless due to his success being the only painter of his style during his time. To show his social status and wealth, Rubens painted a self-portrait of him and his wife, Isabella Brandt when they were married in 1609. It was a tactic for artists to boast for themselves by creating this art. Rembrandt, however not being the only successful artists of his time, also boasted about his wealth by paining a double self-portrait of him and his wife Saskia. Rembrandt also boasted his wealth by buying a 33 year old house in Breestrat, an up and coming neighborhood, even though he could not afford the crippling interest that came along with the high mortgage.
Another difference seen between these two artists is their teaching styles. Both artists took on several pupils throughout their career in art. It is said that the primary role of Rubens’ students was to step in for Rubens’ hand in completing the final stage. “The contribution of his students remains on the whole, visually anonymous-Ruben’s workshop methods did not encourage their individual inclinations.” However, Rembrandt let his students work freely with his art, “as long as their overall approach was in keeping with his manner.” Since Rembrandt let his students work so closely alongside some of his greatest work, there is great speculation on some of his pieces that they were not completely his. “Modern research states that Rembrandt may not have worked on all of this paintings that have his name on it. It is implied that a student may have not signed his work, so Rembrandt could have put his name on it and sold it as his own.” This kind of mishap would not be possible with Rubens’ teaching style.
Rembrandt and Rubens were two of the greatest painters of all time, who both just so happened to be alive in the 17th century. Although, religion being a great factor in both of their works-their styles seem to be vastly different due to their distant training and education paths. The greatest difference between the two artists is that Rubens traveled to Italy and studied the early masters’ styles and took those impressions to use in his own art throughout his life. Rembrandt opted to stay in the Netherlands and learn from Pieter Lastman, which seemed to be beneficial for this career, considering the use of light and darkness is still attributed as his greatest accomplishment in his art. Rembrandt’s main focus was on portraits, although he still worked on historical, biblical scenes and allegories. Rubens’ main focus was on historical, biblical scenes and allegories, but he also dabbled in portraits throughout his career. He also worked on landscapes towards the end of his years. Rubens was seen as an incredibly educated scholar, which is why he was given more opportunities to paint for religious leaders and to become a diplomat for the Duke. Rembrandt was educated as well, but chose to focus on his art as a career, rather than any other outlet. Religion was a huge factor in both of their art and is obviously seen with all of their biblical scenes. However, Rubens incorporated more religious scenes into his work, whereas Rembrandt preferred to earn his living through painting portraits. These artists both have similarities in their work, both being from the same century, but their different upbringing and educational paths prove to have paved different artistic preferences into their styles.

Peter Paul Rubens’ Work:

St. Jerome in his Study

The Assumption of the Virgin Mary

The Hercules Farnese

The Raising of the Cross

The Descent of the Cross

The Wolf and Fox Hunt

Rembrandt’s Work:

Saint Paul in Prison of 1627

Judas Repentant and Returning the Pieces of Silver

Peter and Paul Disputing

Rembrandt’s mother with her hand on her chest

Rembrandt and Rubens Bibliography

Peter C. Sutton, ed. Painting in the Age of Rubens (Harry N. Abrams, 1993)
Charles Scribner, Peter Paul Rubens (Harry N. Abrams, 1989)
Lives of Rubens (Pallas Athene, 2005)
Michael Jaffe, Rubens and Italy (Cornell University Press, 1977)
Geraldine Johnson, “Pictures fit for a Queen: Peter Paul Rubens and the Marie de’Medici Cycle,” Art History 16 (1993): 447-469.
Sarah Cohen, “Rubens's France: Gender and Personification in the Marie de Médicis Cycle,” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 85, No. 3 (Sep., 2003): 490-522
Elise Goodman, “Woman's Supremacy over Nature: Van Dyck's ‘Portrait of Elena Grimaldi’,”Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 15, No. 30 (1994): 129-143
Dennis P. Weller, Sinners and Saints: Darkness and Light: Caravaggio and His Dutch and Flemish Followers, ex. cat. (North Carolina Museum of Art, 1998)
Frans Grijzenhout and Henk van Veen, eds. The Golden Age of Dutch Painting in Historical Perspective, (Cambridge, 1999).
J. Michael Montias, “Socio-Economic Aspects of Netherlandish Art from the Fifteenth to the Seventeenth Century: A Survey,” Art Bulletin, no.72 (1990): 359-73.
Jeffrey M. Mueller, “Rubens’s Theory and Practice of the Imitation of Art” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 64, No.2 (June 1982), pp. 229-247.
Seymour Slive, “Realism and Symbolism in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art,” Daedalus vol. 91 no. 3 (Summer, 1962): 469-500
Seymour Slive, “On the Meaning of Frans Hals' 'Malle Babbe',” The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 105, No. 727 (Oct., 1963): 432; 434-436.
Herman Roodenberg, “The ‘hand of friendship’: Shaking Hands and Other Gestures in the Dutch Republic,” A Cultural History of Gesture, ed. Bremmer and Roodenberg (New York, 1992), 152-189.
Seymour Slive, et. al. Frans Hals, ex. cat. (London, 1989) Lives of Rembrandt (Pallas Athene, 2008)
Perry Chapman, Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait: A Study in Seventeenth-Century Identity (Princeton, 1990), 34-54.
Michael Kitson, Rembrandt (Hunter Publishing, 1974)
Hubert von Sonnenburg, Rembrandt/ not Rembrandt (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995)
Hubert von Sonnenburg, Rubens and Rembrandt: A Comparison of their Techniques (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995), 71-79.
Christopher White, ed. Rembrandt By Himself (National Gallery London, 1999)
David R. Smith, “Towards a Protestant Aesthetics: Rembrandt’s 1655 Sacrifice of Isaac,” Art History 8 (1985): 290-302
Gary Schwartz, Rembrandt: His Life, His Paintings (New York, 1985).
Kenneth Clark, Rembrandt and the Italian Renaissance (Murray, 1979).
Nicola Courtright, “Origins and Meanings of Rembrandt’s Late Drawing Style,” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 78, No. 3 (Sep., 1996), pp. 485-510
Wayne Franits, ed. Looking at Seventeenth Century Dutch Art (Cambridge, 1997)
Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches (Vintage, 1997)
Gaskell and Jonker, eds. Vermeer Studies (Washington, D.C., 1998), 265-283.
John Walford, Jacob van Ruisdael and the Perception of Landscape (New Haven, 1991)
Svetlana Alpers, The Art of Describing: Dutch Art in the Seventeenth Century (Chicago, 1983)
Liedtke, Walter. "Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) and Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641): Paintings". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rvd_p/hd_rvd_p.htm (October 2003) Unknown Author. Peter Paul Rubens. The Complete Works. http://www.peterpaulrubens.org/biography.html
"Peter Paul Rubens." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 20 Jan. 2015.
Liedtke, Walter. "Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669): Paintings". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rmbt/hd_rmbt.htm (October 2003).

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[ 1 ]. Unknown Author. Peter Paul Rubens. The Complete Works.
[ 2 ]. Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015.
[ 3 ]. Michael Jaffe, pg. 21.
[ 4 ]. Liedtke, Walter. "Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) and Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641): Paintings".
[ 5 ]. Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015.
[ 6 ]. Unknown Author. Peter Paul Rubens. The Complete Works.
[ 7 ]. Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015
[ 8 ]. Ton van der Horst. Source 1 Media.
[ 9 ]. Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015
[ 10 ]. Ton van der Horst. Source 1 Media.
[ 11 ]. Liedtke, Walter. "Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669): Paintings".
[ 12 ]. Liedtke, Walter. "Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669): Paintings”.
[ 13 ]. Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015
[ 14 ]. Ton van der Horst. Source 1 Media.
[ 15 ]. Hubert Von Sonnenburg, pg. 71.
[ 16 ]. Jeffrey M. Mueller, pg. 237.
[ 17 ]. Hinterding, Ger Luijten, and Royalton-Kisch, Rembrandt the Printmaker.
[ 18 ]. Von Sonnenburg, pg. 71.
[ 19 ]. Von Sonnenburg, pg. 72.
[ 20 ]. Von Sonnenburg, pg. 75.
[ 21 ]. Von Sonnenburg, pg. 72.
[ 22 ]. Von Sonnenburg, pg 74
[ 23 ]. Ton van der Horst. Source 1 Media.