Part of multi-museum program Rubens 2004.
Curator
Nico van Hout
From the museum website
Rubens was no engraver. But he did possess sufficient plastic talent to have a highly innovative vision of the opportunities offered by this art form, keeping an active watch for engravers ready to accept the challenge of translating his virtuosity into this linear medium. Rubens sought to ensure that every gradation of light and colour was converted into flowing curves which overcame the earlier limitations of this medium. But this was not his sole contribution. The artist first of all converted the subtle brushwork of his oil paintings into sketches, to make sure that the engraver retained the form and dynamics of the original. His critical eye raised the art of engraving to a higher level, popularising his own works in the process. The exhibition is more than a series of prints. Rather it serves to illustrate the entire production process – including Rubens’s corrections of drawings and proofs.
Other venue
Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec, Québec (14 October 2004-9 January 2005)
Publication
Copyright Rubens, Rubens en de grafiek / Rubens et l’art de la gravure
Catalogue of an exhibition held in 2004 in Antwerp Nico Van Hout and others
(Museum Plantin-Moretus/Stedelijk Prentenkabinet)
Antwerp, Québec (Ludion Press) 2004