Spanish or French school of the 17th century. Follower of PETER PAUL RUBENS (Siegen, Germany, 1577 -

Spanish or French school of the 17th century. Follower of PETER PAUL RUBENS (Siegen, Germany, 1577 - Antwerp, Belgium, 1640).
"The Descent from the Cross".
Oil on panel. Engatillado.
Size: 63 x 46 cm; 80 x 63.5 cm (frame).
The present panel is a faithful reproduction of the painting of the same subject, "The Descent from the Cross", painted by Peter Paul Rubens in 1612. It is the central part of a triptych, which also shows the Visitation of the Virgin and the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. It is kept in Antwerp Cathedral, Belgium. The author of the present work may have become acquainted with Rubens' painting through a contemporary engraving by Lucas Emil Vorsterman, as is attested by an engraving identical to the present work in the Rijks Museum.
Peter Paul Rubens was a painter of the Flemish school who nevertheless competed on an equal footing with contemporary Italian artists and was of major international importance, as his influence was also key to other schools, such as the transition to the full Baroque in Spain. Although born in Westphalia, Rubens grew up in Antwerp, where his family was originally from. After completing his training Rubens joined the Antwerp painters' guild in 1598. Only two years later he travelled to Italy, where he stayed from 1600 to 1608. During this decisive period, the young Flemish master had first-hand experience of naturalism and classicism, the works of Caravaggio and the Carracci. During his visit to Mantua he was impressed by Mantegna, especially by his "Triumphs of Caesar", which influenced his later "Triumph of the Eucharist", where we see the same classical theatrical sense of Mantegna. It was also in Mantua that he would see at first hand the giants of Giulio Romano's Tea Palace. He visited Rome on several occasions, and also studied the art of Classical Antiquity, which influenced his early sculptural and monumental style, which evolved over time towards a more pictorial language. In the Italian capital Rubens also became acquainted with Italian Renaissance painting and the works of Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo. On his tour of Italy he also visited Florence and Parma, where he came into contact with the work of Correggio. In Venice he learned the sense of ostentation of Veronese and the dramatism of Tintoretto, and in 1609 he returned to the Low Countries to serve the governors of Flanders, Archduke Albert and the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia. In addition to being a court painter, Rubens carried out diplomatic work for the court, which took him to Spain, London and Paris. In 1609 he married Isabella Brant in Antwerp and organised his workshop, recruiting excellent collaborators with whom he worked side by side, many of whom were specialist painters (Frans Snyders, Jan Brueghel de Velours, etc.). He also took on pupils and created an excellent workshop of engravers, who worked from drawings by his own hand and under his supervision. During these years he produced important commissions such as "The Elevation from the Cross" (1610) and "The Descent from the Cross" (1611-14), both for Antwerp Cathedral. By this time Rubens was already the leading painter in Flanders and it was in his workshop that outstanding masters such as Anton van Dyck and Jacob Jordaens were trained. Today works by Rubens are to be found in the most important collections throughout the world, including the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, the Louvre in Paris, the Mauritshuis Gallery in The Hague, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the National Gallery in London and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.