BELGIUM ~ Peter Paul Rubens Self Portrait - Rubens House - Antwerp ~

... First of two great Belgian postcards... both with newly released stamps and beautiful special first day postmarks...  lovely view of one of the few self-portraits he left us... Rubens painted only four... can be seen in the Rubens House museum...  here is where Rubens, one of the greatest artists ever, once lived with his wife and children and died in 1640...  it is also where he worked, together with his assistants, in his majestic studio and also kept his incomparable art collection...  one of Antwerp’s many and interesting and unique museums... in 2018, Peter Paul Rubens is honored as one of the great inspirators of Baroque painting by Bpost with a miniature sheet with five stamps... Thanks so much  Johan for this special and unique philatelic item!!【ツ】...matching postcard, stamp and cancellation👍 !!

This self-portrait in the Rubens House is the most informal of the four. He probably also intended this work to be used in the studio, as a model that his assistants could copy. This self-portrait is traditionally dated around 1630, the year in which Rubens wed Helena Fourment. The painter was 53 years old at the time.

In 1610, Rubens purchased a house with land along Wapper in Antwerp. He drew the plans himself for its extension, which fulfilled the wishes of the artist, businessman, family man and art collector that he was.


After Rubens died, the house underwent a number of changes before rising again as the Rubens House, the home of and museum about the Baroque master painter, Peter Paul Rubens.


© Musea en Erfgoed, Antwerpen

Stamp:

Peter Paul Rubens
(Issued 12-03-2018)