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Rubenshuis
2008.03.12
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Rubens and the Rubenshuis
You enter the Rubenshuis the way Rubens wanted it: through the main gate that is the entrance of the elegant inner courtyard. Here, the visitor is immediately struck by the opulent shapes in the Italian facade and the baroque gate. The style is indeed in sharp contrast with the architectural tradition of 16th century residences. The open gallery and the painter's studio, with large round arched windows, link the residence and the working spaces in the same lush architectural style.
This clearly indicates that the street facade at the Wapper must not have been very interesting for Rubens... His sojourn in Italy (1600-1608) inspired the painter not only in his painted works, but also in his ideas about architecture. The biggest part of the studio's facade was done by Rubens in "trompe l'oeil" and according to a classical, humanistic tradition. The friezes between the first and the second floors show scenes from antiquity and refer to famous painters such as Zeuxis and Thimantes. The restoration has reproduced these painted representations in bas-relief.
