With great sadness we announce the passing of Rubens scholar Prof. Dr. Arnout Balis (1952-2021) on Monday 6 September. Balis was the Chairman of the Corpus Rubenianum, and as such the driving force behind the completion of the Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard.

Thomas Leysen, chair of the Rubenianum Fund, strikingly wrote that Arnout Balis “was an exceptionally gifted scholar and a great connoisseur, but above all a very warm human being and a great friend to many of us.

His impact on Rubens scholarship and on several generations of students and peers cannot be overestimated. His erudition coupled with a streak of nonconformism and ruthless integrity and leavened by a gentle sense of humor will continue to resonate with all who have had the good fortune to know him well.

He will be sorely missed at the Centrum Rubenianum, but the expert team he assembled there will carry on and bring the Corpus Rubenianum project to a good end.”

The board of the Centrum Rubenianum announced to organize a memorial session for Arnout Balis in Antwerp in the near future.

Arnout Balis was a member of CODART since 1999. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues.