Enlarge
Imitator of Maarten van Cleve, retouched by Peter Paul Rubens, The Feast of Saint Martin © Beeldarchief Collectie Antwerpen
The Rubens House > Collection > Acquisitions > Acquisitions 2011 > The Feast of Saint Martin
The Feast of Saint Martin
The latest acquisition of the museum shows a popular festival in honour of Saint Martin.
The work most probably was part of Rubens’ collection. The painter had the habit of reworking paintings and drawings of other artists. With the retouches to this work, Rubens wanted to enliven the composition and accentuate the gulf between the peasants and the refined citizens. He did this, for example, by adding white highlights to the teeth and eyes to make them sparkle. He also turned a peasant wife into a dignified city lady by changing her apron into a silk skirt and painting gold thread on her cap.
Imitator of Maarten van Cleve (1527-1581)
retouched by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
The Feast of Saint Martin
oil on panel
