A contract was created between Rubens and Jacobus Tirinus, the head of the Antwerp Jesuits in 1620.[1] The contract stated that Rubens must create at least thirty-nine ceiling paintings and two large paintings for the church, in which he will be rewarded with ten thousand florins.[1] The two large paintings would then be displayed in rotation.[1] This painting and The Miracles of St. Ignatius of Loyola became the two altarpieces for the church.[2] By the time the contract was signed, the two altarpieces were already completed.[1] This altarpiece was completed before St. Francis Xavier became a saint in 1622.[3]
This painting, along with The Miracles of St. Ignatius of Loyola, were purchased by the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa after a fire caused the St. Charles Borromeo Church to close in 1773.[4] They are currently in the Kunsthistorisches Museum located in Vienna.[4]
Description
The main figure, St. Francis Xavier, is on the right side of the altarpiece, standing on a platform.[1] Different events are combined and used to display St. Francis Xavier performing many miracles.[4] On the left side of the altarpiece, a baby is being held by the mother.[4] The baby has water coming from his mouth.[2] There are people rising from the dead.[4] Next to the mother and baby is a male figure that looks similar to a figure in another art piece created by Rubens, The Great Last Judgement.[4] Near the upper left corner of the altarpiece between the two columns, there is statue that wears a crown and has an open mouth at the middle portion of the body.[5] The figure is positioned like it is in the motion of falling.[5] On the right side, there is a blind man that is reaching out with his arms.[4]
Figure studies
Rubens drew numerous life studies before the altarpiece was completed.[4] The majority of changes that were made focused on the forms and gestures of the figures.[4] Rubens created studies of St. Francis Xavier's gestures to give him a pose that shows that he is healing people.[4] There were studies created of the people that St. Francis Xavier is performing miracles on.[6] Rubens took perspective into account by softening the altarpiece after thinking about how the painting would look from far away.[4]
Counter-Reformation
As a result of the Counter-Reformation, Rubens' paintings focused strongly on Catholic doctrine.[4] The paintings contained a lot of dynamic movement, barely visible outlines, and variety of tones.[1] The theme of miracles is a key component to the altarpiece.[4] This was used to show that St. Francis Xavier had the ability to perform miracles and restore faith to the Roman Catholic Church.[3] St. Francis Xavier's abilities in this painting were used as propaganda as a part of his canonization trials.[7] His ability to resurrect the dead made him closer to heavenly figures.[7]
Interpretation
It is suggested that the setting of the painting focuses on St. Francis Xavier's missionary actions in Asia.[8] These actions caused people to spread word about his miracles.[8] Researchers know that Rubens received information about the geography and history of Asian culture from Theodore de Bry.[8] Rubens used this information and information he knew about European culture, which resulted in a setting that combined aspects of both cultures.[8] It is known that the baby being held by the mother symbolizes the event when St. Francis Xavier resurrected a baby from drowning in India.[2] In the middle of the painting, there are men in Korean outfits who symbolize people who initially questioned St. Francis Xavier's ability to perform his miracles.[2] They were eventually convinced of St. Francis Xavier's ability.[2]
Hindu idol
The figure that wears a crown is interpreted as a Hindu idol.[7] Rubens drew this figure based on the information he received from sculptures and travel accounts about Indian culture.[7] Another way Rubens received information about Indian culture was through goods from India that were traded in Antwerp.[7] Specifically, the idol was based on the Western interpretation of Indian gods.[9] In the Western interpretation, Hindu idols were shown as demonic figures.[9] The figure has an open mouth on its body because this concept in Western art represented the devil.[7] The figure's position and St. Francis Xavier's gesture show that St. Francis Xavier is directing the heavenly vision that is attacking the figure.[9] This interpretation follows St. Francis Xavier's time in India in which he persuaded people to follow the Church and get rid of any depictions of their previous religion.[9]
Plague victim
Researchers are not sure how Rubens received information about the bubonic plague, a deadly disease, because he never had the disease.[2] There is a possibility that Rubens received information about the disease through plague treatises.[2] Another possibility is that Rubens was inspired by an art piece created by Jacopo Tintoretto, called St. Roch Healing Plague Victims.[2] The art piece has figures that have postures similar to the male figure in this painting.[2] It is theorized that the male figure in the lower left corner of the altarpiece is to have been a victim of the plague.[2] It is suggested that the male figure's posture has been referenced from other paintings that depict the plague.[2] Among these plague paintings include St. Francis of Paola, another painting created by Rubens.[2] Researchers have theorized that the plague is symbolized by the figure's exposed underarm.[2]
Chinese figure
Man in Korean Costume, c. 1617, black and red chalk, J. Paul Getty Museum
There is a figure wearing attire that might be Korean or Chinese in the center of the painting.[10] This figure resembles the subject of one Rubens's drawings, traditionally known as Man in Korean Costume.[10] Rubens used foreign attire in his paintings to add dramatic effects.[10] The figure was originally going to wear Turkish attire, but the Jesuits wanted a variety of clothing to represent their activity in Asia.[10] They did not have a direct relationship with Korea during the seventeenth century, but they learned about the country through their activities in China.[10] The Jesuits displayed their victories and activities outside the country by displaying foreign attire in art pieces.[10] The East Asian attire in this painting symbolizes the belief that Catholicism was superior while demoting paganism to a primitive status.[10] Recent research has demonstrated that the man is actually a Chinese Protestant from the Ming period named Yppong. The confusion was made because of the similarities in clothing.[11][12]
Boeckl, Christine. (1996). "Plague Imagery as Metaphor for Heresy in Rubens' The Miracles of Saint Francis Xavier." The Sixteenth Century Journal 27(4): 979–995
Burchard, L. (1963). Rubens Drawings. Brussels: Arcade Press. 154, 179–181.
Glen, Thomas L. (1977). Rubens and the Counter Reformation: Studies in His Religious Paintings between 1609 and 1620 /. New York:: Garland Pub.
Miller, Rachel. (2018). "Peter Paul Rubens's Investigation of the Origins of Idolatry and Iconoclasm in the Jesuit Church of Antwerp." IKON: 127–140.
Sauerländer, Willibald. (2014). "New Saints and Reinvigorated Veneration of the Saints." The Catholic Rubens. Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute: 90–96.
Schrader, Stephanie. (2013). Looking East: Rubens's encounter with Asia. Los Angeles: Getty Publications. 1–7, 39–60.
Spinks, Jennifer. (2014). "The Southern Indian 'Devil in Calicut' in Early Modern Northern Europe: Images, Texts and Objects in Motion." Journal of Early Modern History 18(1/2): 15–48.doi:1163/15700658-12342383.
Uppenkamp, Barbara. (2016). "'Indian' motifs in Peter Paul Rubens's The Martyrdom of Saint Thomas and The miracles of Saint Francis Xavier." Nederlandsch kunsthistorisch jaarboek. 66:112–141.
Notes
1 2 3 4 5 6 Baudouin, Frans (1989). Pietro Pauolo Rubens. London, England: Bracken Books. pp.20, 106, 157–158. ISBN9781851701292.
1 2 Spinks, Jennifer. "The Southern Indian 'Devil in Calicut' in Early Modern Northern Europe: Images, Texts and Objects in Motion". Journal of Early Modern History: 15–48.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Uppenkamp, Barbara (2016). "'Indian' motifs in Peter Paul Rubens's The martyrdom of Saint Thomas and The miracles of Saint Francis Xavier". Nederlandsch Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek. 66: 112–141. doi:10.1163/22145966-90000783.
1 2 3 4 Sauerländer, Willibald (2014). "New Saints and Reinvigorated Veneration of the Saints" in The Catholic Rubens. Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute. pp.90–96. ISBN9781606062685.
1 2 3 4 Miller, Rachel (2018). "Peter Paul Rubens's Investigation of the Origins of Idolatry and Iconoclasm in the Jesuit Church of Antwerp". IKON. 11: 127–140. doi:10.1484/J.IKON.4.2018013.
↑ For a nuanced discussion see Katlijne Van der Stighelen and Hans Vlieghe (2021). Rubens. Portraits of Unidentified and Newly Identified Sitters Painted in Antwerp (Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, XIX, 3). London: Harvey Miller.
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