Gallery
Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640)
The Rainbow Landscape, c.1636
This painting shows a late summer afternoon on Rubens's country estate. In the foreground cows are being driven home and ducks bathe in the stream. Peasants are gathering in the harvest and a milkmaid returns from her labours, carrying a shiny pitcher on her head. The activity takes place in front of a dark wood and a beautiful shimmering blue landscape dotted with houses and windmills.
The scene is crowned by a rainbow which extends from some way in the distance on the left and reaches towards us and behind the trees on the right. The beautiful yellow glow of the hay and the shining leaves of the sides of the trees are tempered by the darkness and shadows to the right, with the rainbow uniting the two sides. The rainbow is a reference to God's covenant after the flood.
The human and animal activity is concentrated into the foreground of the picture, giving the sense that people are drawing in and returning from the rural scene to their homes, soon to disappear along the road to the left and off the side of the painting.
Rubens created this work towards the end of his life and it is an imaginary artistic reconstruction of his own estate, called Het Steen, which he bought for himself and his young second wife, Hélène Fourment. The estate, between Brussels and Antwerp, included a castle, draw-bridge, tower, moats, a lake and a farm and gave him the right to be known as Lord of Het Steen. It must have been an idyllic place for him to spend the last years of his life. The painting has a companion piece in the National Gallery, London, which shows Het Steen, set in a similar landscape in early morning. They probably hung opposite each other in Rubens's house.
Peter Paul Rubens
The Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens was prolific and imaginative: one of the greatest painters of the 17th century. Although primarily a history and religious painter, his output included portraits and landscapes. His work is known for its powerful narrative style and vibrancy of colour.
Rubens was not born into a rich or particularly well-connected family, but became extremely successful, famous, and well-liked during his lifetime. He was popular with a number of European rulers, becoming court painter to the Spanish governors of the Netherlands and gaining commissions from King Charles I of England and Philip IV of Spain. He was an accomplished international diplomat, determined to help create peace between Spain and England, earning a knighthood from Charles I in 1630.
Activities, discussions and questions
» The painting shows late afternoon, but its companion piece
shows early morning. Try to re-draw The Rainbow Landscape in the morning
with the sun shining from the right-hand-side of the picture. Where
would the shadows fall? Which way would the people be travelling? Likewise,
we are looking at a scene in early summer. What would the same scene
look like in the spring or winter?
» Discuss how Rubens has enhanced his composition using colour
and tone, moving from light and bright on the left-hand-side to dark
and sombre on the right.
» This would be a wonderful painting for the study of perspective,
with tiny windmills picked out in the distant haze, and a buzz of clearly-defined
activity in the foreground. The cows too, can be used to illustrate
this through comparing the size of the furthest to that of the nearest.
This work of art was created 370 years ago and probably represents an ideal view of the landscape Rubens saw. How might a modern landscape appear? Perhaps dotted with electricity pylons, modern windmills and/or more housing?
Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640)
The Rainbow Landscape, c.1636
Material: Oil on oak panel
Dimensions: 135.6 cm x 235 cm
Place made: Belgium
Accession No: P63
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