Peter Paul Rubens even drew the most beautiful cow pats
The magnificence of the artist is not only evident in his dramatic, large paintings. Even quick pencil drawings illustrate his undeniable genius. The KMSKA has some of Rubens' drawings on display where he has captured the essence of a cow pat, or a urinating cow in a field, with only a couple of pencil strokes.
Antwerp
Towards the end of his life, Rubens favours landscapes and paints everyday life in the country. 2018 is the year of Rubens in Antwerp. This is the perfect time to visit Flanders.
The KMSKA is home to a magnificent painting about the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The religious aspect is clearly of secondary importance compared to the detail Rubens devotes to the stable, the animals, and the evening landscape. The painter loves to retreat to the country where he can sketch barns, agricultural machinery and animals to his heart's content. He then saves the drawings to reuse them in other compositions; the cart on the far right, for example, has been used in another work.
KMSKA - Leopold de Waelplaats, Antwerp - Source
Interested in finding out what life used to be like? Then a visit to the Open air museum Bokrijk should definitely be on your list... especially if you have children! Bokrijk has around 140 authentic buildings, tools and implements that were used in everyday life between the 17th century and 1950.
Open air museum Bokrijk - © Visitflanders
Peter Paul Rubens - © Rubens House Antwerp
