{"id":54036,"date":"2021-09-07T13:26:51","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T11:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/topa.be\/2004-rubens-no-stranger-to-the-world\/2004-rubens-sjk\/"},"modified":"2021-11-17T16:13:54","modified_gmt":"2021-11-17T15:13:54","slug":"sjk","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/topa.be\/en\/tentoonstelling\/rubens-wereldvreemd\/sjk\/","title":{"rendered":"2004 &#8211; Rubens SJK"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"54036\" class=\"elementor elementor-54036 elementor-53991\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-587b505 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"587b505\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-96299d1\" data-id=\"96299d1\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a1d0bcd elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a1d0bcd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Exhibitions - Archives<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-61d958a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"61d958a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-908640a\" data-id=\"908640a\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5f242f5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5f242f5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">2004 - Rubens, no stranger to the world<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-05de437 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"05de437\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">March 6 - September 12, 2004<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f736716 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f736716\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Saint James's Church:<br>Rubens, family man<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-c914c80 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"c914c80\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ac18a47\" data-id=\"ac18a47\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e96851f elementor-toc--minimized-on-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-table-of-contents\" data-id=\"e96851f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;headings_by_tags&quot;:[&quot;h3&quot;],&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;marker_view&quot;:&quot;bullets&quot;,&quot;icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;fas fa-circle&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;},&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;No headings were found on this page.&quot;,&quot;minimize_box&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;minimized_on&quot;:&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;hierarchical_view&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;min_height&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"table-of-contents.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-toc__header-title\">\n\t\t\t\tTable of content\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--expand\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__e96851f\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Open table of contents\"><i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-chevron-down\"><\/i><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--collapse\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__e96851f\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Close table of contents\"><i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-chevron-up\"><\/i><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__e96851f\" class=\"elementor-toc__body\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<i class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9cef384 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9cef384\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">1637 &gt; The St. James\u2019 Church<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">March 1, 1637. Rubens\u2019 youngest child, Peter Paul, is going to be baptized today. The family has agreed to meet at the main entrance of their parish church, St. James\u2019. The gothic church, the first stone of which was laid in 1491, is not finished. The vaulting of the central aisle and transept has only been in place for ten years, and that of the choir is still in progress. The completion of the ambulatory, however, has met with considerable delay. Of the nine radiating chapels planned, only three have been consecrated. When the parish organized a collection for the completion of the works of the ambulatory, Rubens gave only 12 guilders, by way of protest. For him, the gothic style is a bit barbaric and out of date. If he is going to open his purse, it is only because he lives in the parish.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The furnishing of the interior, by contrast, answers to the classical language of forms promoted by Rubens himself. The choir is closed off by a simple early baroque rood screen with a central passage, which is flanked by two altars. Most of the side chapels along the nave have baroque marble enclosures and brass balustrades. When Guillaume Pluymaeckers replaced the wooden enclosure of the Venerable Chapel with brass balustrades in 1621-23, Rubens was one of the subscribers, along with such personalities as burgomaster Van de Werve, Cornelis Lantschot and the painter Anthony van Dyck. The St. Anna Chapel is an exception, with its high wooden enclosure adorned with scrollwork, grotesques and three caryatids in the manner of Floris, the so-called Antwerp renaissance style of the mid-16<sup>th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The pillars of the central nave are to be adorned with statues of the apostles. The sculptor Andries Colijns de Nole is already busy with the first one, a St. Paul. Next year, it will be hung on the first pillar on the right. Guilds and corporations provide baroque altars for their chapels, and well-to-families decorate the pillars and walls with baroque epitaphs. In this way, the gothic church still manages to acquire a baroque aspect.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d152017 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d152017\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Today &gt; The St. James\u2019 Church<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The St. James\u2019 Church counts as one of the richest baroque churches in the Netherlands. In contrast to most of the other churches, the St. James\u2019 Church was not plundered during the French period. J.B. Mortelmans, curate of Our Lady, swore an oath of loyalty to the French Republic. As a reward he was named pastor of St. James\u2019. His \u00a0collaboration was not appreciated by his parishioners, but because of it the interior of the church was not violated.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Many visitors will nevertheless be surprised at how much the present-day interior differs from what Rubens would have seen. The Lady Chapel and the Venerable Chapel only reached their present extent in the years 1664-65. Most of the radiating chapels in the ambulatory also date from after Rubens\u2019 death, including his own burial chapel.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The early baroque choir screen made way for a luxurious baroque exemplar by Sebastiaan de Neve in 1669, while the organ in the choir by J.B. Forceville was only installed in 1727. Of the twenty-three altars present in the St. James\u2019 Church today, Rubens only knew two: the altar of the Three Kings, with a triptych by Hendrik van Balen (1606), and the altar of St. Hubert, with a triptych by Ambrosius Francken (1608). All the others date from the second half of the 17<sup>th<\/sup> century and the beginning of the 18<sup>th<\/sup> century. The oak choir stall by Octaaf Herry, Artus I Quellin and his nephew Artus II Quellin (1658-70), the baroque pulpit by Lodewijk Willemsens (1675), the monumental main altar by Artus II Quellin and Willem Kerrickx (1685), which depicts the glorification of St. James, and the many private monuments with masterpieces of baroque sculpture were not yet present in Rubens\u2019 time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The architect Blomme began restoration work on the church in the early 20<sup>th<\/sup> century. In 1963 the full-scale restoration began. It is still in progress today. Recently, a wall painting was revealed in the chapel of St. Job which depicts violin players, among other things. In the chapel of St. Roche, a monumental <em>Last Judgment<\/em> was discovered.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-29bd831 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"29bd831\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Theme &gt; P.P. Rubens, family man<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The story of Rubens\u2019 family is closely interwoven with that of the St. James\u2019 Church. Rubens\u2019 parents, Jan Rubens and Maria Pijpelinckx, married there on November 29, 1538. As a boy of thirteen, Rubens attended there the marriage of his sister Blandina to Simeon du Parcq. However his first marriage, to Isabella Brant, took place in St. Michael\u2019s Abbey on October 13, 1609. While searching for an appropriate living space with an atelier, the young couple stayed with Isabella\u2019s father, Jan Brant, in the Kloosterstraat. Rubens\u2019 two oldest children were thus baptized in the nearby St. Andrew\u2019s Church. At the end of 1610, Rubens purchased a large house with a garden on the Wapper. The family would not be able to move in before 1616. Hence, Rubens\u2019 third child, Nicolaas, was the first to be baptized, in the St. James\u2019 Church.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rubens liked to begin his day by attending mass. But whether he went to his parish church or to one of the numerous cloister churches in the area is not known. He had no time for the office of church warden. His name rarely appears in the church registers, nor was he a member of any of the chapels or brotherhoods. But the St. James\u2019 Church served as the backdrop for many important events in his family life.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The second marriage of P.P. Rubens, to Helena Fourment, took place in this church on December 6, 1630. Their five hildren were all baptized here. Rubens did not hide the fact that he felt most at ease as a married man, surrounded by a beloved wife and children. Rubens\u2019 last bit of happiness was the news that Helena Fourment was pregnant for the fifth time. His youngest child, Constantia Albertina, would only see daylight eight months after his death.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">His two adult sons from his first marriage, Albert and Nicolaas, and his young widow, Helena Fourment, joined their efforts to build a final resting place worthy of the head of the family. The relationship between Rubens&#8217; eldest sons and Helena Fourment, who was about the same age, proved to be excellent. Albert and Nicolaas married shortly after the death of their father. Rubens\u2019 first grandchildren were born in 1641 and named after his two wives: the one Isabella Helena, the other Helena Francisca.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Until the middle of the 18<sup>th<\/sup> century, Rubens\u2019 family would honor his memory in the burial chapel. In 1755 his great-grandson, Jan Baptist van Parijs, had the altarpiece and the gravestone embellished.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-eeabd46 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"eeabd46\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rubens &gt; His marriages and children<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rubens\u2019 first marriage, to Isabella Brant, was blessed in the St. Michael\u2019s Abbey on October 13, 1609. Rubens was greatly affected by her death in 1626. Four years later he found happiness again: at the age of fifty-three, he married the sixteen-year-old Helena Fourment. She was the daughter of his old friend and neighbor, the tapestry merchant Daniel Fourment. The marriage took place on December 6, 1630, in the St. James\u2019 Church, not in the wedding chapel, which was only built in 1670, but in the church itself. Two days before the future husband and wife had appeared before the notary Toussein Guyot to seal the marriage contract. In it is specified how much money each party would bring to the marriage. Via the descendants of Rubens\u2019 granddaughter Clara Petronilla, the document ended up in the cultural heritage centre \u2018Gaasbeek Castle\u2019, which had been property of a Rubens\u2019 descendant. The document is permanently displayed there.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The five children from Rubens\u2019 second marriage were all baptized in the present-day baptismal font. The marble basin with its impressive brass cover date from 1626. The baptistery is a marble-clad room covered with a cupola and located on the south of the tower. The furnishings, executed according to designs by the architect Jan Kaulman, date from 1804.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Peter Paul, his one but last child, became a priest. Rubens\u2019 youngest child was only born eight months after his death. She later became a nun in the abbey of Ter Kameren.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">P.P. Rubens (\u00b028-05-1577 \u202030-05-1640)<br \/>\nIsabella Brant (\u00b01591 \u202020-06-1626)<br \/>\n\u221e 13-10-1609-1626<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">1 Clara Serena \u00b021-03-1611, St.-Andrieskerk \u20201623<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">2 Albert \u00b005-05-1614, St.-Andrieskerk \u20201657<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">3 Nicolaas \u00b023-03-1618, St.-Jacobskerk \u20201655<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">P.P. Rubens (\u00b028-05-1577 \u202030-05-1640)<br \/>\nHelena Fourment (\u00b001-04-1614 \u202015\/07\/1673)<br \/>\n\u221e 06-12-1630<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">4 Clara Johanna \u00b018-01-1632, St.-Jacobskerk \u20201689<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">5 Frans \u00b012-07-1633, St.-Jacobskerk \u20201678<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">6 Isabella Helena \u00b003-05-1635, St.-Jacobskerk \u20201652<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">7 Peter Paul \u00b001-03-1637, St.-Jacobskerk \u20201684<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">8 Constantia Albertina \u00b003-02-1641, St.-Jacobskerk \u20201709<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-955f78a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"955f78a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">P.P. Rubens &gt; His testament and funeral<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rubens died on Wednesday, May 30, 1640, three days after his last testament was drawn by the notary Toussein Guyot. Via the descendants of Rubens\u2019 granddaughter Clara Petronilla, the document ended up in the archives of the cultural heritage center \u2018Gaasbeek Castle\u2019, which had been property of a Rubens\u2019 descendant. Rubens made the following burial arrangements for himself and his second wife: \u2018they have chosen to have their sepulchre in the parish church of St. James in this city, in the place there that best suits the survivor, leaving the execution thereof to the discretion of said survivor and the executors of this will and guardians of their minor children to be named below\u2019.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the customs of the time, Rubens was buried on the evening of his death. His body was temporarily placed in the family crypt of his father-in-law Daniel Fourment, in the northern ambulatory. The bier, covered with a black velvet pall and surrounded by sixty torches, was set up above the tomb and decorated with the artist\u2019s hatchment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Saturday, June 2, 1640, at 11 o\u2019 clock, the funeral ceremony took place. Many people lined the way between the Wapper and the St. James\u2019 Church. The bells tolled. Sixty orphans bearing torches walked before the bier, accompanied by members of the most prominent monastic orders: Augustinians, Dominicans, Jesuits, Capuchins, Carmelites, Minorites, Franciscans, and the begardes. Behind them followed representatives of the chapter of the cathedral and of the city magistracy. The funeral procession was led by Rubens\u2019 two oldest children, Albert and Nicolaas, followed by family, friends, members of the Guild of St. Luke and fellow Romanists.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The choir and altars were draped in black velvet, and crosses in red satin. The requiem mass was sung by the choir of the Cathedral of Our Lady. The service was followed by a meal in honour of the deceased, which took place at his home and cost 273 guilders. The almoners of the city received 500 guilders with which to buy bread for the poor.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For six weeks, the catafalque remained over the tomb, lit six torches. Each day a chaplain performed a mass for the salvation of his soul. The family paid for a total of 800 masses, to be held in seven Antwerp cloisters, the parish of Elewijt (near his country house, Het Steen), and the cloister of the Augustinian nuns in Mechelen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Five years later, in 1645, it was finally possible to transfer Rubens\u2019 body to the crypt under the newly completed chapel. This time the transfer of his material remains took place discreetly, without pomp or circumstance.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-42519a7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"42519a7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">P.P. Rubens &gt; His burial chapel and altar<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 1636 the church council began collecting funds to defray costs for the completion of the choir and ambulatory, with its seven radiating chapels. Wealthy families were given the chance to pay for the construction of a chapel. Rubens, however, was not particularly interested in having a gothic chapel and did not take up the invitation. In 1640, just before his death, he finally agreed to be buried there. In order to show their respect for their deceased husband and father, Helena Fourment and Rubens\u2019 sons from his first marriage chose the central chapel along the church\u2019s axis, just behind the choir. At that moment only three chapels in the ambulatory had already been completed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The contract for the construction of the chapel drawn up on March 14, 1642, offered master mason Antoon Maicx and stone mason Jacques des Enffans little freedom, given that the existing radiating chapels were to serve as a model.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shortly after the chapel was finished in 1645, Cornelis van Mildert began building Rubens\u2019 altar. The simple baroque portico altar in white, black and red marble was completed in 1650. Jan Baptist de Broechoven de Bergeyck, the second \u00a0\u00a0husband of Helena Fourment, donated the altar-table .<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to Helena Fourment, Rubens had expressed the wish that his painting of the <em>Madonna with Saints<\/em> and the statue of <em>Our Lady of Sorrows<\/em> adorn the burial chapel. Due to the painting\u2019s unusual format \u2013 almost square \u2013 this request was not simple. The altarpiece is flanked by two slender red marble columns. The unusually high ornamentation crowning the altar consists of a broken pediment and a niche that breaks through the cornice. The statue of <em>Our Lady of Sorrows<\/em> was probably sculpted by Lucas Faydherbe (1617-1697), who until shortly before Rubens\u2019 death had worked in the master\u2019s atelier. However, other arguments suggest that the work can be attributed to Hi\u00ebronymus Duquesnoy (1602-1654).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The altar-table was added in 1755 at the initiative of Rubens\u2019 great-grandson Jan Baptist van Parijs. The white marble tomb in rococo style is the work of Hendrik Danco. The predella is decorated with a rocaille medallion with the arms of P.P. Rubens and a white marble plaque with the inscription:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Widow Helena Fourment and children have dedicated this chapel, this altar and this painting to the worship of the Mother of God And have had it erected In the memory of Rubens.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Above the altar hangs a 19<sup>th<\/sup>-century hatchment bearing Rubens\u2019 arms and the date of his death.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-50b72d0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"50b72d0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">P.P. Rubens &gt; Madonna with Saints<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A few days before his death, Rubens expressed the wish that this painting adorn his grave although it was not originally meant for this purpose. Nothing is known concerning the patron of this very late work, nor why it was never delivered.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nothing in the scene depicted relates to burial or mourning. The composition is based on the iconographical type of the &#8216;sacra conversatione&#8217; \u2013 the Madonna conversing with other saints \u2013 an invention of the Italian renaissance. Mary, with the Child on her arm, is the most important figure in the composition, toward whom all the others turn. Mary shows the Child, whose face resemble that of Frans Rubens, the oldest son of Rubens and Helena Fourment, to the saints surrounding her. We recognize St. George, Mary Magdalene and St. Jerome, who points to the Bible and raises his right hand instructively. The kneeling man in bishop\u2019s clothing and the figures behind him cannot be identified with any certainty. They probably have some connection to the original destination of the painting. The kneeling man may be the donor.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">By emphasizing the role of Mary, an important point of conflict between Catholics and Protestants, the work connects with Counter-Reformation iconography. The presence of St. Jerome is significant in this respect: he was one of the most zealous defenders of the divinity of Mary\u2019s motherhood and the virgin birth.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The painting was taken from the church by the French in 1794, but was given back to the city of Antwerp in 1801. It was exhibited in the Academy until 1815, when it was returned to the church. In 1803 Jean-Joseph Delin made a copy of \u00a0it for the Rubens Chapel.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-37e5f24 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"37e5f24\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">P.P. Rubens &gt; His tombstone<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The white marble tombstone was added to the entrance of the burial chapel by Hendrik Danco in 1755 on the initiative of Jan Baptist van Parijs, the painter\u2019s great-grandson, grandson of his daughter Clara Johanna. The chiselled Latin inscription was written by Gaspar Gevartius on the death of his friend P.P. Rubens, but the family did not use it right away. The inscription was only carved a century later, and reads as follows:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>To the glory of our gracious and almighty God<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>Sir P.P. Rubens<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>son of Jan, alderman of this city<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>Lord of Steen<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>who excelled among the talented<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>by virtue of his knowledge of history and all the noble arts<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>and thereby acquired the name of<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>Apelles<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>of his time as of all ages<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>and who secured a place in the hearts of kings<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>and princes<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>elevated to the rank of secretary to <\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>the Privy Council<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>by Philip IV king of Spain and India<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>in the year 1639 sent<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>to Charles, king of Great Britain<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>and laid the foundations of the peace presently concluded<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>between the two princes<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>he died in the year of our lord 1640, 30 May<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>at the age of 64 years.<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;\"><strong>May he rest in peace<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f8d47d0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f8d47d0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">P.P. Rubens &gt; The family in the burial chapel<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Albert (1614-1657), the oldest son of P.P. Rubens and Isabella Brant, was likewise buried in the crypt, together with his wife Clara del Monte. Their elaborate epitaph hangs on the right wall of the chapel between two stained glass windows. The monument of black jasper, alabaster and red marble is by Cornelis van Mildert.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Clara Johanna (1632-1689) and Frans (1633-1678), children of P.P. Rubens and Helena Fourment, were also laid to rest in the crypt. It became a real family tomb. Clara lies together with her husband Filips van Parijs, their son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. Frans is buried with his wife Suzanna Charles, their son Alexander Charles Rubens and his wife Catharina van Parijs. Both of their tombstones flank the tombstone of their father at the entrance to the chapel. They were added in 1755 on the initiative of canon Jan Baptist van Parijs, grandson of Clara Johanna.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under the stained-glass windows hang the hatchments of the three children of Nicolaas Rubens: his two sons with their wives and his daughter. All five are likewise buried in their grandfather\u2019s crypt.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e4ec182 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e4ec182\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">P.P. Rubens Chapel &gt; View of the crypt<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Over the course of the 17<sup>th<\/sup> and 18<sup>th<\/sup> centuries, deceased family members were regularly laid to rest in the crypt. After an edict of Joseph II dated June 26, 1784, burials in churches were forbidden with few exceptions, and the tomb of Rubens remained closed. The first visitors to the tomb occurred in 1833. An official visit organized by the church council took place in October 1855 in the presence of various notables, the clergy and a few artists. Both panels offer a view of the crypt under the Rubens Chapel as it looked then.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When the crypt was opened, only one coffin appears to have been found intact. Although 42 coffins were placed there over the centuries, the remains of only 16 were left in 1855. The crypt was opened again on the 1974 restoration works. At that time too it was not possible to identify the remains of Rubens and Helena Fourment among the numerous intermingled skeletons. DNA-research might be able to offer a definitive answer.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-55b86da elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"55b86da\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">P.P. Rubens Chapel &gt;The Rubens chalice<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The so-called Rubens chalice was given to the St. James\u2019 church by the descendants of P.P. Rubens in 1757. According \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0to the inscription on the base (\u2018ad usum fundationum sacelli rubeniani\u2019), the chalice was to be used exclusively \u00a0for masses performed for the souls of deceased family members. The chalice was only used in the Rubens Chapel.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This gilt silver chalice consists of a high base with a double curve, a baluster stem with a vase-shaped knop between two slender rings, and a cylindrical bowl with a slightly flared lip. Its pure form is typical for chalices from the middle of the 18<sup>th<\/sup> century. There are three hallmarks on the base: a crowned hand, the mark of the city of Antwerp; a crowned number 57 for the year 1757; and an illegible maker\u2019s mark.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-d611b76\" data-id=\"d611b76\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ac3ab1a elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ac3ab1a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/topa.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tegel-Rubens.jpg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"Tegel Rubens\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6NTM4MTIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC90b3BhLmJlXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC9UZWdlbC1SdWJlbnMuanBnIn0%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"799\" src=\"https:\/\/topa.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tegel-Rubens.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-53812\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topa.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tegel-Rubens.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/topa.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tegel-Rubens-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/topa.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tegel-Rubens-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/topa.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tegel-Rubens-768x767.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Exhibitions &#8211; Archives 2004 &#8211; Rubens, no stranger to the world March 6 &#8211; September 12, 2004 Saint James&#8217;s Church:Rubens, family man Table of content 1637 &gt; The St. James\u2019 Church March 1, 1637. Rubens\u2019 youngest child, Peter Paul, is going to be baptized today. The family has agreed to meet at the main entrance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"parent":53981,"menu_order":30,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-54036","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/topa.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/54036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/topa.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/topa.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topa.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topa.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54036"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/topa.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/54036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54037,"href":"https:\/\/topa.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/54036\/revisions\/54037"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topa.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/53981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/topa.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}