St. Albert of Louvain

Museum record 28874: St. Albert of Louvain by Peter Paul Rubens. A verified entry point for discovery.

What to notice

For St. Albert of Louvain (record 28874), start with modern, expressive, atmospheric. Compare the focal subject, edge treatment, and atmosphere before moving on.

Discover

Peter Paul Rubens executed this study and 38 more as he prepared to decorate the ceiling of the Jesuit church in Antwerp. He presented such highly finished sketches to his patrons as proposals for major projects. This work shows a dramatically foreshortened saint gliding majestically on a cloud. The bold perspective would have furthered the illusion that the painting was a window in the ceiling of the church, offering a view to the open sky above. The man depicted here is the 12th-century martyr Albert o…