Rubens In The Museo Del Prado (English)
The Museo del Prado houses one of the biggest collections of Peter Paul Rubens’ work. With this quiz game, we encourage you to test your knowledge of one of the most outstanding artists of the Seventeenth century.
- 1.
Detail: Adoration of the Magi (1609; 1628-1629)Peter Paul Rubens was born in 1577 in...
- A.
Bruges
- B.
Antwerp
- C.
Leuven
- D.
Siegen
Correct Answer
D. SiegenExplanation
Rubens was born on June 28th 1577 to a Flemish Calvinist family in Siegen, a German province in Westphalia, where they had fled to from Antwerp due to religious persecution.Rate this question:
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- 2.
Anne of Austria, Queen of France (around 1622)Rubens’ art work is scarce
- A.
True
- B.
False
Correct Answer
B. FalseExplanation
Rubens was a very prolific artist and, even though he focused on painting, he also designed plenty of prints, tapestries, architecture, sculptures and decorative objects.Rate this question:
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- 3.
Detail: Diana and Callisto (around 1635)¿Which of the following Spanish kings was a great collector of Rubens’ artworks?
- A.
Philip II
- B.
Philip IV
- C.
Charles IV
- D.
Charles III
Correct Answer
B. Philip IVExplanation
Philip IV, guided by his niece Isabella Clara Eugenia, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries, was one of the greatest collectors of the Flemish artist’s works, to the extent that in the public auction after Rubens’ death, he acquired most part of the artist’s private collection of paintings.Rate this question:
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- 4.
Equestrian portrait of the Duke of Lerma (1603) Rubens never visited Spain although he received many commissions from the Spanish courts
- A.
True
- B.
False
Correct Answer
B. FalseExplanation
Rubens visited the Spanish court twice. The first visit was in 1603 as part of an ambassadorship sent in representation of the Duke of Mantua. The second one was in 1628 and this time Rubens was called by the king Philip IV himself to carry out some diplomatic issues. During this second visit, he met Velázquez, with whom he would probably share a studio in the Alcázar de Madrid and to whom he would recommend a trip to Italy.Rate this question:
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- 5.
Achilles Discovered by Ulysses and Diomedes (1617-1618)Which of the following artists carried out an apprenticeship in Rubens’ workshop?
- A.
He did not have a workshop
- B.
Van Dyck
- C.
Velázquez
- D.
Paul Bril
Correct Answer
B. Van DyckExplanation
Rubens’ workshop became the most important one in Antwerp, hosting a large number of artists and apprentices. Van Dyck was one of them. In 1620, only a few years after his debut in the workshop, he was already the principal assistant.Rate this question:
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- 6.
The Sight (1617)What kind of relationship did Rubens have with Flemish artists?
- A.
He was an avowed enemy of the Flemish artists Frans Snyders and Jan Brueghel the Elder
- B.
He was a blood relative of the Flemish artists Frans Snyders and Jan Brueghel the Elder
- C.
He used to collect artworks by the Flemish artists Frans Snyders and Jan Brueghel the Elder
- D.
He used to collaborate with other Flemish artists such as Frans Snyders or Jan Brueghel the Elder
Correct Answer
D. He used to collaborate with other Flemish artists such as Frans Snyders or Jan Brueghel the ElderExplanation
Throughout his career, Rubens made many artworks in collaboration with Flemish artists, Frans Snyders and Jan Bureghel the Elder being some of the most outstanding. The Museo del Prado houses some of these collaborative pieces, such as “Sight” (1617), comprised in the set of paintings on the five senses made together by Rubens and Jan Brueghel.Rate this question:
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- 7.
The Triumph of the Eucharist over Idolatry (hacia 1625)Rubens’ “The Triumph of the Eucharist” is...
- A.
An altarpiece commissioned for the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales
- B.
A set of tapestries commissioned by Philip IV for the Monasterio del Escorial
- C.
A series of tapestries commissioned by Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands
- D.
The title of an essay about iconography written by Rubens
Correct Answer
C. A series of tapestries commissioned by Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, sovereign of the Spanish NetherlandsExplanation
“The Triumph of the Eucharist” is the name of a series of 20 tapestries designed by Rubens in little panels painted in oils, commissioned by Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia as a gift to the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales de Madrid. The Prado preserves six of them.Rate this question:
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- 8.
Saturn devouring his son (1636-1637)Paintings as “The Rape of Ganymede”, “The Birth of the Milky Way” or “Saturn devouring his son” comprise a series of mythological pieces painted to decorate...
- A.
The Torre de la Parada
- B.
El Escorial
- C.
Rubens’ house in Antwerp
- D.
The palace of the archdukes Albert and Isabella Clara Eugenia
Correct Answer
A. The Torre de la ParadaExplanation
The decoration of the Torre de la Parada, a royal hunting pavilion, was one of the biggest projects commissioned by Philip IV. It consisted of more than 70 pieces of art, depicting mythological topics most of them taken from the Metamorphoses by Ovid. For this project, in which Velázquez also collaborated, Rubens delegated the execution of some paintings to his workshop and other outstanding Flemish artists, although he designed all the sketches.Rate this question:
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- 9.
The three Graces (1630-1635)Who does Rubens portray as one of the three Graces?
- A.
Nobody in particular
- B.
Isabella I of Castile
- C.
His lover
- D.
His second wife, Hélène Fourment
Correct Answer
D. His second wife, Hélène FourmentExplanation
Rubens married twice. His first wife was Isabella Brant, who he married in 1609, but she died in 1626. In 1630, when he was 60, he married Hélène Fourment, a 16 year-old beauty, who would become Rubens’ main source of inspiration during his last decade. Not only did he paint portraits of her and modelled some characters in his paintings after her, but he also took from her the features that would characterise the feminine canon that appears in most of his artworks at that time. We can see an example of all this in “The three Graces” (figure on the left) or in “The Judgement of Paris” (depicted as Venus).Rate this question:
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- 10.
Saint Paul (1610-1612)The series of portraits of apostles that Rubens painted between 1610 and 1612 reflect...
- A.
His knowledge on Classical sculpture, Michelangelo and Caravaggio, acquired during his stay in Italy
- B.
His free creative process, breaking away from what he had learnt during his stay in Italy
- C.
His knowledge on Classical sculpture acquired during his stay in Greece
- D.
A very little pious interpretation of the apostles
Correct Answer
A. His knowledge on Classical sculpture, Michelangelo and Caravaggio, acquired during his stay in ItalyExplanation
This series, painted little after coming back from an eight-year stay in Italy, is inspired by the Classical sculpture and by Michelangelo’s and Caravaggio’s art. Rubens, an important creator of devout pictures that exalt the Catholic doctrine, enhances here the idea of sacrifice and dedication of these characters, as he portrays them with the tools used in their martyrdom.Rate this question:
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.jpg "The three Graces (1630-1635)Who does Rubens portray as one of the three Graces?")
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