Research Forum Summer Term 2011
caroline villers research fellowship lecture
Rubens in The Courtauld Collection, 1608-12
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
18.00, Research Forum South Room
Peter Paul Rubens, Moses and the Brazen Serpent, 1609-10. © The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London
Speaker(s): Clare Richardson & Kate Stonor (Caroline Villers Research Fellows, The Courtauld Institute of Art)
Ticket/entry details: Open to all, free admission
Organised by: Dr Aviva Burnstock
In 2009 -10 Clare Richardson and Kate Stonor undertook the restoration of The Courtauld Gallery’s Rubens, Moses and the Brazen Serpent, and this year they are working on the restoration of Cain Slaying Abel. Their research as Caroline Villers Fellows is stimulated by the technical findings brought to light by these treatments. In order to shed light on the status and context of these important early Rubens works, an in-depth technical study of a small group of paintings by Rubens in London collections dating from 1608 -1612 was undertaken. The restoration histories of these works have played a part in their interpretation and their status in Rubens’ oeuvre. Therefore, research has focused on both material aspects, such as the construction of panel supports and pigments used, and historical context, examining contemporary studio practise in Antwerp and Rubens’ intellectual development of his compositions. In particular, artistic sources for subjects have been considered alongside technical evidence, which can reveal earlier compositional ideas as well as the presence of other hands.