A Sermon in a Village Church
Peter Paul Rubens Flemish
Not on view
Of illustrious provenance but mostly unknown until it reappeared shortly before the Museum acquired it, this drawing is exceptional for Rubens in several ways. The style and technique relate it to the many oil sketches he produced on panel but rarely on paper. The subject is also rare and may have been inspired by a mass he attended in a village church near the country estate he purchased in 1635. A congregation of peasants listens with varying degrees of attentiveness to the sermon of a Catholic priest. Rubens, who excelled more than any artist of his time in grand compositions on religious, mythological, and allegorical themes, here focused on a modest moment of rural life. However unassuming the scene, the directness of observation, the liveliness of the brush, and the monumentality make the sheet an unmistakable product of the artist's genius. The Museum acquired six drawings by Rubens during the last two decades.
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