13. Rubens Monument, Antwerp - 9 Sept 1900 | Glass Plates
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) remains one of the most renowned Flemish artists, known for his highly detailed Baroque portraits and spectacular mythological scenes. Spending much of his later life living in Antwerp, and due to his close family and business connections there, he is remembered as one of the city’s most prominent luminaries.
This bronze statue, with its central position in the Groenplaats, commemorates his cultural contributions within Antwerp.
In the above photo, ladies and gentlemen in the formal dress of the era, many of the men holding canes and women with umbrellas, walk across the square beneath the shadow of Rubens’ statue on his pedestal.
The statue is a landmark for citizens to gather around and to sit at the great artist’s feet.
Best Laid Rubens
Envisioned in 1840 to commemorate two centuries since Rubens’ death, the monument ran into immediate problems. The first was simply that funds were lacking. As such, it was decided to erect a plaster cast with the intention of replacing it with a proper bronze statue later.
Sculpted by Guillaume Geefs, it originally stood near to the Scheldt River, but due to the course of the river being straightened, it had to be moved to its new position in the Groenplaats in 1843, the same year that the bronze statue replaced the plaster version. The weight of the bronze statue, being notably heavier than plaster, broke through the base of the cart that was transporting it, and required immediate repairs.
After its troubled beginnings and uprootings, I hope the statue of Rubens can now rest in this pleasant tree-lined square.
The inscription on the statue is as follows:
PETRO PAULO
RUBENS
CIVI OLIM SUO
S. P. Q. A.
SUMPTIB. PUBL. ET PRIV.
P.
MDCCCXXXX
Something that jumped out to me in this inscription was the “S.P.Q.A.”, which I guessed had to be some reference to the iconic S.P.Q.R. of Roman inscriptions. It turns out that S.P.Q.A. stands for Senatus Populusque Amstelodamensis, which translated from Latin becomes the Council and People of Amsterdam. As an official body, I assume this was the council that planned and organised the raising of the statue. Whether their initials are deliberately tongue-in-cheek or simply a reverential nod to the Classical Era, I cannot say; but I like to think those who came up with S.P.Q.A. had a sense of knowing fun.
Public Artworks of Antwerp
Thus far two of the glass plates were taken in Antwerp, and both have public artworks as central subjects. The first was the Brabo Fountain, discussed in an earlier post, and then there is the above statue of Rubens. The next glass plate continues this trend, yet it is not another work in bronze, but instead one of iron…
References
Fabel, Harry, ‘The unfortunate story of the Antwerp Rubens statue’, Amazing Belgium <https://www.amazingbelgium.be/2020/01/the-unfortunate-story-of-antwerp-rubens.html>
1900 Glass Plates: This project explores a series of glass plates from the year 1900 with the eventual goal of travelling the same route as the photographer. It will be a varied journey that will stretch from simple blog posts examining each photo to videos and more. This project is in collaboration with photographer Aleksandar Nenad Zecevic, who’ll be restoring the photographs to bring out details dimmed by time. More to follow.
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