Het Pelsken
The Fur | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Year | c. 1636–1638 |
Medium | Oil on oak |
Dimensions | 176 cm × 83 cm (69 in × 33 in) |
Location | Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
Accession | GG_688 |
The Fur or The Pelt (Dutch: Het Pelsken), also called The Little Fur (German: Das Pelzchen; French: La Petite Pelisse), or Helena Fourment in a Fur Robe, is a c. 1636–1638 portrait by Peter Paul Rubens of his second wife Helena Fourment getting out of her bath and wrapping her voluptuous body in a fur. It is now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.[1]
Description
In this life-size portrait of Helena Fourment at the age of eighteen, her figure is wrapped only in a short mantle of black fur, loosely gathered round her shoulders and hips.[2] Helena is represented standing, coming from the bath, half wrapped in the fur-trimmed cloak that gives its name to the picture, and imperfectly hides her nudity.[3] The head is turned to the spectator, and according to Émile Michel "the countenance exhibits no sign of embarrassment or shame."[4] Her breasts are pressed together and raised up by her right arm; her small, shapely left hand holds up a fold of the thick pelisse over her belly.[4]
Analysis
Her pose recalls the Venus pudica (lit. 'modest Venus') of Graeco-Roman sculpture,[5] in which the goddess is shown nude as she prepares to bathe, discarding her drapery with one hand, while modestly shielding herself with the other.[1] Another antecedent is Titian's Girl in a Fur, which Rubens knew.[1][6] He even made a copy of the Titian, having seen it in the collection of Charles I in England.[7] The execution of contrasting soft white flesh and rich dark fur has been praised in both paintings.[1] Michel writes of this effect in the Rubens picture, "The frank black of the pelisse, the red of the carpet, and the brown of the background set off the brown of the background set off the brilliance of the flesh-tints".[4]
Unlike Titian, who idealises his figure, Rubens depicts dimpled knees and folds of flesh and combines classicism with realism.[8] Michel sees this as a fault, and writes, "The portrait is too exact, for inelegant forms are faithfully copied. The flesh lacks its former firmness, and clear traces of the compression of the bodice on the torso, and of the garters on the legs with their too perceptible knee-pans may be detected."[4] However, other critics have praised this quality in Rubens; as Andrew Morrall notes, "Neither simply a portrait nor purely an image of a mythological deity, this intensely private work has ironically become one of the most celebrated erotic images in Western art."[9]
History
According to art historian Louis Hourticq, Rubens was too much in love with his young wife to hesitate to celebrate her beauty in his art. He surprised her one day on the way to her bath, and she yielded to her husband's fancy for painting her as she was. She would be quite naked but for the fur mantle thrown across her shoulders, which she holds in place with a charm.[10] A tradition reported by Michel says that after Rubens died Madame Rubens hesitated to offer some of his pictures for sale, and a special clause in his will gave The Little Fur Coat to her as a personal gift.[11]
Provenance
- Mentioned in the will of Peter Paul Rubens in 1640;
- Mentioned in the will of Helena Fourment in 1658;
- Documented as being in the gallery in Vienna in 1730.[1]
Gallery
- Venus de' Medici, 1st century BC; a variant of the Venus pudica type
- Girl in a Fur by Titian, c. 1536–1838
- The Judgement of Paris by Rubens, c. 1636
- The Fur by Rubens, on display in its current frame
- Copy by Wincenty de Lesseur in watercolour and gouache on ivory, 1793 (12.8 x. 8.9 cm)
References
- ^ a b c d e Kunsthistorisches Museum.
- ^ Knackfuss (tr. Richter) 1904, p. 154.
- ^ Michel (tr. Lee) 1899, ii. pp. 175–176
- ^ a b c d Michel (tr. Lee) 1899, ii. p. 176.
- ^ Scribner 1989, p. 45.
- ^ Queensland Art Gallery.
- ^ Morrall 2003, p. 17.
- ^ Morrall 2003, p. 19.
- ^ Morrall 2003, p. 16.
- ^ Hourticq (tr. Street) 1918, p. 132.
- ^ Hourticq (tr. Street) 1918, p. 135.
Sources
- Hourticq, Louis (1918). Rubens. Street, Frederick (tr.). New York: Duffield & Company. pp. 132, 135, 159
- Knackfuss, H. (1904). Rubens. Richter, Louise M. (tr.). (Monographs on Artists). New York: Lemcke & Buechner. p. 154.
- Michel, Émile (1899). Rubens: His Life, his Work, and his Time. Lee, Elizabeth (tr.). Vol. 2. London: William Heinemann; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 175–176.
- Morrall, Andrew (2003). Rubens. (History & Techniques of the Great Masters). Hertfordshire: Eagle Editions Ltd. pp. 16–19.
- Scribner, Charles (1989). Peter Paul Rubens. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. pp. 39, 41,
- "Helena Fourment ("Das Pelzchen")". Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- "Young woman in a fur wrap (after Titian) c.1629–1630". Queensland Art Gallery. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
External links
- "The Fur ("Het Pelsken")". Web Gallery of Art. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- v
- t
- e
and drawings
- The Descent from the Cross (Siegen; 1600–1602)
- Leda and the Swan (1601, 1602)
- The Deposition (1602)
- Self-Portrait in a Circle of Friends from Mantua (1602–1605)
- Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma (1603)
- Portrait of a Young Woman (1603)
- Hercules and Omphale (1603)
- Heraclitus and Democritus (1603)
- Virgin and Child (c. 1604)
- The Fall of Phaeton (c. 1604/1605)
- The Baptism of Christ (1604–1605)
- The Gonzaga Family in Adoration of the Holy Trinity (1604–1605)
- Transfiguration (1604–1605)
- The Circumcision (1605)
- Portrait of Marchesa Brigida Spinola-Doria (1606)
- Portrait of Maria di Antonio Serra (1606)
- Portrait of a Noblewoman with an Attendant (1606)
- Portrait of Giovanni Carlo Doria on Horseback (1606)
- Madonna della Vallicella (1606–1608)
- Susanna and the Elders (1607)
- The Head of Saint John the Baptist Presented to Salome (c. 1609)
- Adoration of the Magi (Madrid; 1609 and 1628–29)
- Samson and Delilah (1609–1610)
- Honeysuckle Bower (1609–1610)
- Coronation of the Virgin (1609–1611)
- Juno and Argus (1610)
- Raising of the Cross (1610–1611)
- Conversion of Saint Paul (London; 1610–1612)
- Massacre of the Innocents (c. 1611)
- Venus Frigida (1611)
- Prometheus Bound (1611–1612)
- The Four Philosophers (1611–1612)
- Antwerp Resurrection (1611–1612)
- Visitation (c. 1611–1615)
- Roman Charity (1612)
- Ecce Homo (1612)
- Descent from the Cross (Antwerp; 1612–1614)
- Saint Teresa of Ávila's Vision of the Holy Spirit (Rotterdam; 1612–1614)
- Saint Teresa of Ávila's Vision of the Holy Spirit (Cambridge; c. 1614)
- The Tribute Money (1612–1614)
- The Defeat of Sennacherib (1612–1614)
- The Four Continents (1610s)
- Christ Giving the Keys to Saint Peter (1612–1614)
- Portrait of a Commander (1613)
- The Crowning of the Virtuous Hero (1613–1614)
- The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (1613–1615)
- The Death of Adonis (1614)
- Venus and Adonis (1614)
- St Sebastian (c. 1614)
- The Virgin Mary and Saint Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger (c. 1614)
- Madonna della Cesta (1615)
- Ixion, King of the Lapiths, Deceived by Juno, Who He Wished to Seduce (1615)
- Daniel in the Lions' Den (1615)
- Bacchanalia (c. 1615)
- A Statue of Ceres (c. 1615)
- The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt (1615–1616)
- The Tiger Hunt (1615–1616)
- Theodosius and Saint Ambrose (1615–1616)
- The Wild Boar Hunt (1615–1617)
- Florence Resurrection (1616)
- The Virgin and Child Surrounded by the Holy Innocents (1616)
- Erichthonius Discovered by the Daughters of Cecrops (c. 1616)
- The Wolf and Fox Hunt (c. 1616)
- The Lion and Leopard Hunt (c. 1616)
- Romulus and Remus (1615–1616)
- Miracles of St. Francis Xavier (1616–1617)
- Saint Stephen Triptych (1616–1617)
- Two Women with a Candle (1616–1617)
- Descent from the Cross (Lille; 1616–1617)
- The Meeting Between Abraham and Melchizedek (1616–1617)
- Christ and the Penitent Sinners (1617)
- Mars and Rhea Silvia (1617)
- The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (1617)
- The Great Last Judgement (1617)
- A Bearded Man (c. 1617–18)
- Adoration of the Magi (Lyon; 1617–1618)
- The Five Senses (1617–1618)
- Two Satyrs (1618)
- Medusa (1618)
- The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus (c. 1618)
- Christ Triumphant over Sin and Death (c. 1618)
- The Prodigal Son (1618)
- The Union of Earth and Water (c. 1618)
- Tigress with Her Cubs (attributed; 1618)
- Mucius Scaevola before Lars Porsenna (c. 1618–1620)
- Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee (1618–1620)
- The Wild Boar Hunt (1618–1620)
- St Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy (1619–1620)
- The Small Last Judgement (1619)
- Conversion of Saint Paul (1620s)
- The Fall of the Damned (c. 1620)
- Landscape with Philemon and Baucis (c. 1620)
- Portrait of a Young Man in Armor (c. 1620)
- Saint George and the Dragon (c. 1620)
- Perseus Freeing Andromeda (1620)
- Saints Dominic and Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger (1620)
- The Rape of Orithyia by Boreas (1620)
- Christ on the Cross (1620)
- The Three Graces (Florence; 1620–1623)
- Isabella Brant (c. 1621)
- The Lion Hunt (1621)
- Marie de' Medici cycle (1621–1630)
- Portrait of Susanna Lunden (1622)
- Perseus and Andromeda (c. 1622)
- The History of Constantine (1622–1625)
- Self-Portrait (1623)
- The Conversion of Saint Bavo (1623–1624)
- Diana and Her Nymphs Leaving for the Hunt (1623–1624)
- Adoration of the Magi (Antwerp; 1624)
- The Reconciliation of Esau and Jacob (1624)
- Christ Appointing Saint Roch as Patron Saint of Plague Victims (1623–1626)
- Portrait of Infante Isabella Clara Eugenia (1625)
- Portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (c. 1625)
- Assumption of the Virgin (Antwerp; 1625–1626)
- Angelica and the Hermit (c. 1626–1628)
- Henry IV at the Battle of Ivry (1627)
- The Triumphal Entry of Henry IV into Paris (1627)
- The Annunciation (1627–1628)
- The Fall of Man (1628–1629)
- The Rape of Europa (1628–1629)
- Minerva Protecting Peace from Mars (1629–1630)
- Cimon and Pero (1630)
- Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (c. 1630)
- The Crowning of Saint Catherine (1631)
- The Ildefonso Altarpiece (1630–1631)
- Last Supper (1630–1631)
- Odysseus on the Island of the Phaecians (1630–1635)
- The Finding of Erichthonius (1632–1634)
- The Rainbow Landscape (Saint Petersburg; 1632–1635)
- The Garden of Love (c. 1633)
- Adoration of the Magi (Cambridge; 1634)
- Bathsheba at the Fountain (c. 1635)
- The Dance of the Villagers (1635)
- Helena Fourment with Her Son Frans (1635)
- Venus and Adonis (New York; 1635)
- The Triumph of the Church (1635)
- The Feast of Venus (1635–1636)
- Deucalion and Pyrrha (1636–1637)
- The Feast of Herod (1635–1638)
- The Village Fête (1635–1638)
- Mercury and Argus (1635–1638)
- Hercules's Dog Discovers Purple Dye (c. 1636)
- Helena Fourment with Children (1636)
- A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning (1636)
- Saturn (1636)
- The Rainbow Landscape (London; 1636)
- Pallas and Arachne (1636–1637)
- Het Pelsken (1636–1638)
- Assumption of the Virgin (Vienna; c. 1637)
- The Birth of the Milky Way (c. 1637)
- Consequences of War (c. 1638)
- Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides / Deianira Listens to Fame (1638)
- The Three Graces (Madrid; 1636–1638)
- The Rape of Ganymede (1636–1638)
- Diana and Callisto (1637–1638)
- Helena Fourment with a Carriage (1638)
- Self-Portrait (Vienna; 1638–1639)
- Bacchus (1638–1640)
- The Rape of the Sabine Women (1639–1640)
- The Peasants Returning From The Fields (1640)
- The Rainbow Landscape (Munich; 1640)
- Judgment of Paris (various)
- The History of Constantine (1622–1640) (with Pietro da Cortona)
- Palazzi di Genova (1622)
- Rubens family
- Isabella Brant (first wife)
- Helena Fourment (second wife)
- Nicolaas Rubens, Lord of Rameyen (son)
- Albert Rubens (son)
- Jan Rubens (father)
- Maria Pypelinckx (mother)
- Philip Rubens (brother)
- Tobias Verhaecht (teacher)
- Adam van Noort (teacher)
- Otto van Veen (teacher)
- Nicolaas Rockox (friend)
- Poussinists and Rubenists
- Rubens (1977 film)
- Rubenesque
- Rubens' Europe (exhibition)