Central Panel
|
Painting ‘The
raising of the cross’
Peter Paul Rubens |
 |
|
Rubens (1577-1640) painted The raising
of the cross in 1609-1610, when he himself was about
the age of the martyred Christ. Until 1794, this colossal
work (central panel: 460 x 340 cm, side panels: 460 x
150 cm) was part of the high altar of the St Walburgis
Church, which was later demolished. Hauled away by the
French, the triptych was returned to Antwerp in 1815,
where since 1816 it has had a central place in the Our
Lady’s Cathedral. In The raising of the cross,
Rubens introduced baroque art in the Netherlands after
an eight year stay in Italy. The whirling strength, the
impelling dynamism that characterize this masterpiece
full of drama and pathos are striking. Nevertheless the
whole presentation appears coherent and balanced.
The diagonal composition of the central
panel, with nine
assistant executioners who act in unison, exerting their
intensely earthly, carnal strength to raise the cross
with the pale Christ, possesses a gruesome beauty. Here,
Rubens has set down the raising of the cross, which until
that time had scarcely appeared in the visual arts, in
an unprecedentedly expressive, almost tempestuous manner.
This relates to Roman-Catholic self-confidence, which
was regained during the Counterreformation.
|
|