RUBENS PUPILS

Pieter Soutman

Soutman was a Haarlem born Dutch-artist, said to have worked in Rubens’ Antwerp studio after the workshop was renovated and expanded in 1615. He joined the studio in 1616, either as a pupil or collaborative assistance, and produced a significant number of prints and etchings that replicated other works by Rubens. These drawings were also used as preliminary designs for engravings of paintings. For example, an etching of The Rape of Proserpina (c. 1620 - 1628) by Soutman was modelled after an oil sketch by Rubens. The exact date of Soutman’s departure from Rubens’ studio is unknown, but he completely disassociated from the workshop when he left Antwerp in 1624.

Erasmus Quellinus the Younger

Quellinus was born into a family of sculptors and little is known about his time as an apprentice. It is probable that he trained in Rubens’ studio but there is no documentary evidence of this. He enrolled as a master in the Guild of St. Luke between 1633 – 1634. Upon becoming a master, Quellinus became a frequent collaborator of Rubens. Quellinus was a masterful painter and he assisted Rubens in executing the Torre de la Parada paintings in 1636 – 1638. He was responsible for at least eight of the compositions in the series.

Quellinus was also a draughtsman, exceptionally skilled in drafting sculptural and architectural qualities. For this reason, Rubens often employed Quellinus’ talents to produce engravings of Rubens’ own creations. In 1637, Quellinus executed the print illustrations for Balthasar Moretus’s Officina Plantiniana. Rubens directed the iconography and layout of the book designs, while Quellinus produced most of the drawings under his instruction. The two masters collaborated in this way for many other works. Samson Fighting the Lion (1631) is another example of an etching that was invented by Rubens but executed by Quellinus. Subsequently, Quellinus executed several woodcut engravings and preparatory drawings that borrow from Rubens’ designs and iconography. It was common for these drafts to be used as modello for the commissioned works by other masters. The industrious production of Baroque Flemish art in Antwerp was indebted to this intricate network of cross-workshop collaboration.

Theodoor van Thulden

Thulden was an Antwerp-based painter, draughtsman and print maker. He specialized in historical, mythological and literary scenes. Most notable were his dynamic human figures. There is no documentary evidence that Thulden was a pupil of Rubens, but his style and artistic choices exemplify strong influences from Rubens. Thulden produced prints that drew directly from designs and motifs of Rubens’ existing work. Between 1636 – 1638, Thulden assisted in painting the mythological decorations of the Torre de la Parada, based on the oil sketches made by Rubens. Two of the compositions in the series was executed by Thulden.

Lucas Faydherbe

Faydherbe was a painter and sculptor from Mechelen. In 1636, he travelled to Antwerp and became a pupil in Rubens’ workshop, where he mastered terracotta, ivory-carving and received some major commissions for tomb monuments. Under the instruction of Rubens, Faydherbe created the ivory sculpture Leda and the Swan, now held at the Louvre in Paris. Faydherbe remained in Rubens’ workshop for four years, and at times he oversaw the studio on behalf of his master. He left Rubens’ workshop in 1640. His independent oeuvre continued to exemplify strong influences and mannerisms of Rubens, even after the death of the master.