Flemish, 1577–1640
Angel
oil on canvas, 1610–1611
80.5 x 57 inches
Gift of Viola E. Bray, 2005.158
oil on canvas, 1610–1611
80.5 x 57 inches
Gift of Viola E. Bray, 2005.158
extended label
Completed entirely by Rubens himself, this painting of an angel exhibits the influences of the Italian artists Michelangelo, Titian, and Caravaggio. Executed shortly after he returned to the Netherlands from his eight years of artistic training in Italy, this work was created as part of a much larger commissioned altarpiece for the Church of Saint Walburga in Antwerp. The original altarpiece consisted of several different parts, including his well-known triptych The Raising of the Cross (now located in Antwerp Cathedral). Unfortunately, the work was dismantled in the early eighteenth century and the related paintings, including the angel seen here, were sold to raise money for a new altar. In its original state, the angel surmounted the altarpiece and was meant to be seen at a distance from below, as if in flight. In addition to the laurel wreath of victory held in the angel's left hand, it once held a palm leaf – possibly made of metal – in its right hand.
PROVENANCE
Church of Saint Walburga, Antwerp, 1610; purchased in 1737 by Canon Engelgrave; Baron de Vinck, Heer van Westwezel; Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Le Brun, sale, Paris, April 11, 1791, no. 68; 5th and 6th Marquess of Hertford, Ragley Hall, Alcester, Warwickshire; sale, London, May 20, 1938, no. 29 (“Rubens: the Archangel Gabriel, in the clouds, holding a laurel wreath, 81 in. by 59 in.”); Dr. Paul Drey, sold to French & Company, New York, in 1951; purchased May 30, 1958 by Viola E. Bray (1873-1961), Flint; gifted to Flint Board of Education in 1961 (housed at the FIA), transferred ownership to FIA in 2005.
