Art Gallery of Ontario

3 Portrait of Rogier Clarisse, Portrait of Sara Breyel, c. 1611, FAMSF NARRATOR: Rubens painted these portraits of a husband and wife soon after returning to Antwerp after eight triumphant years in Italy. Now just into his thirties, he quickly established himself back home as an extremely sought-after artist. This couple, the wealthy silk merchant Rogier Clarisse and his wife Sarah Breyel, were th...

2 Hero and Leander, c. 1604, Yale University Art Gallery NARRATOR: Surrounded by sea-nymphs, a young man’s body floats on the dark waves. It’s Leander, who, in Greek mythology, fell in love with Hero, a young priestess. Every night, she lit a lamp in her tower across a narrow stretch of sea, and Leander would swim to her. But one evening, after stormy winds blew out the lamp, Leander lost his way...

1 Introduction GILLIAN MCINTYRE: Peter Paul Rubens was one of the most innovative and successful artists in Europe in the 1600s. A brilliant draughtsman and painter, his imagery is full of drama, color, movement and emotion. He was also a member of scholarly and humanist circles, and worked for royal courts around Europe, both as an artist, and as a diplomat. This exhibition explores a pivotal per...

9 Breviarium Romanum, 1614 NARRATOR: A breviary contained everything you needed for Catholic worship – prayers and hymns for daily use, and the wording for church services too. SASHA SUDA: This is the kind of book that would have been either owned by or available to all Catholics living in Antwerp and elsewhere in the Catholic realm, and would have helped to guide people through their own devotion...

5 Tribute Money, c. 1612, FAMSF NARRATOR: This dramatic conversation is centered around the figure of Christ. KIRK NICKEL: Rubens is well known and well-loved for his tense, dramatic action. The moment is recounted in the gospels when the Pharisees send their followers to confront Jesus about whether the Jewish people should pay taxes to the Roman government, or if their tithes were due to God alo...

6 Holy Family with St Elizabeth, St John and a Dove, 1608-09, MMA NARRATOR: At first glance, this portrayal of the Holy Family is endearingly intimate and playful. Leaning back in his mother Mary’s lap, the infant Christ pulls a dove away from his older cousin John. John’s mother Elizabeth appears to the right, and to the left is Joseph the carpenter, Christ’s earthly father. But despite the sense...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

The Early Rubens audio guide was produced by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honour and includes interviews with the following people: Sasha Suda, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Curator of European Art, AGO and now Director and CEO, The National Gallery of Canada. Kirk Nickel, curator of Early Rubens, formerly Assistant Curator of European Painting, Fine Arts Museums of San Fr...

Vija Celmins: You're looking at a painting called The Heater, a painting I did in 1964. I was in graduate school, UCLA, about 24 years old. I was floundering around in my painting. Doing mostly abstract expressionist painting, and I fell into this period where I was throwing away a lot of ideas. So I started painting these simple paintings of objects in my studio. Like the heater you see here, and...

Vija Celmins: I painted everything in my studio and I was starting to look for other images to use. This is a letter from 1968. And it's a letter from my mother. I used to have the letters drop in on the floor of the studio through the mail slot. I was starting to do some drawings. Giving painting a little break, and this is one of the early drawings, getting kind of used to using a pencil. Gary G...

Vija Celmins: I always liked planes. And I wanted to be a pilot for a while. Gary Garrels: Suspended Plane catches one’s eye immediately because of this huge object suspended in the sky. It's floating, and then I think fairly quickly one understands that the propellers aren't moving. So it's, again, a kind of preposterous situation. Vija Celmins: I consider the painting, one of the great parts of...