“He cannot retire until he has a proper hobby”- a comment by my wife the day before I was due to retire!!! That is how it all started some 15 years ago, so I selected direct stone carving or sculpting in stone as my hobby – please don’t ask me why, I just did okay and being DIY capable convinced me it would be easy. All I needed was an idea, and a suitable piece of stone (see below). So just like Michelangelo I acquired a lump of marble and a limited selection of tools that might be useful.
The stone was free. However, the idea took some time to materialise. Should the idea fit the stone, or the stone fit the idea?
What tools do you need ? I was to learn later that if it works use it. Buying tools can become addictive, a veritable money pit, so buy wisely – you can have too many. The selection below would be an absolute minimum.
So that was it, stone plus tools equals lots of time and mess. Oh, and don’t forget you may need a muse, or afflatus to encourage and guide you. Early progress can be seen below.
And now the finished article.
Select individual pictures to expand and scan around other pictures in the group.
The final view says it all, LUST TO DUST.
Examples of my labour of love.
Select individual pictures to expand and scan around other pictures in the group.
When Gerry asked me to provide a short article to start off a potentially regular discussion topic on anything pertinent to ‘Art’ it was an easy choice for me to make. Regular visitors to our website and many of our club members will already know how I regaled my ‘nearest and dearest’ with comparisons to a Rubens model. Reflective of Baroque tradition Rubens’ voluptuous, curvaceous female forms ooze sexual appeal. I urge you to check out ‘The Three Graces’ and ‘Bathsheba at the Fountain’ as but two examples of this particular aspect of his craft. The dramatic, sensuous paintings, full of movement, had a huge influence on this particular spotty youth. Later, of course, I became enamoured with his portraits, landscapes and altarpieces too. Personal favourite works include ‘The Descent from the Cross’ and ‘Landscape with the Ruins of Mount Palatine in Rome’ – magnificent detail and so evocative of mood. With such images never forgotten in my mind, in later years, I was inspired to visit Rubens’ home (Rubenshuis) in Antwerp, Belgium, a home he designed himself in Italian style, where he created many of his paintings and where he lived with his family and worked with assistants in his studio to deliver commissions. He also received important patrons there and created a unique collection of artworks and books. I found the visit a truly moving experience, the spirit of Rubens in his own house was still somehow very tangible.
It may have been his depictions of the female form that first attracted me to the man but I soon learnt that there was so much more to Peter Paul Rubens than being a hugely successful painter. He was also an adept diplomat in the world of 17th century Catholic and Protestant European politics, travelling widely. Perhaps Rubens diplomacy role was unsurprising as painters often had reason to travel to foreign courts and Rubens was well placed to carry out secretive visits without arousing suspicion, especially as he was a Court Artist. In 1621 Rubens, also fluent in several languages, was called upon to negotiate in France and England on behalf of Isabella (consort then governor of Spanish Netherlands) as Spain, France and England tried to decide with whom to ally or oppose. Rubens was knighted by both Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England so he did well! Among commissions that Rubens undertook for our own Charles I was to carry out the decoration on the roof of the Banqueting House at Whitehall. As a lover of and former student of history and having, coincidentally, spent much of my adult life entwined in politics in one capacity or another it’s probably no surprise to you that I should find Rubens such an enduring and fascinating character.
Rubens, it seemed to me, was well versed in almost everything, but his death was unbefitting of such a remarkable life. A celebrity in his own lifetime and possibly the most sought out painter in Europe, in 1640 he succumbed to heart failure after a particularly nasty attack of gout which left him unable to paint in the last few months of his life.
I hope that this brief summary may provoke you to discover more about Rubens and his works – there’s a wealth of information to be found on the internet including many images of his wonderful works of art.
Do you have a favourite artist or work of art? Why? I look forward to hearing your stories.
If you would like to see more Rubens art works clickhere.
