Peter Paul Rubens and Studio
Flemish, 1577–1640
The Holy Family under an Apple Tree
c. 1632
Elizabeth kneels to support her praying son, John the Baptist, while his father Zacharias offers Jesus an apple branch. This act symbolizes Jesus’s role in Christian tradition as the savior, sacrificing himself to redeem humanity from Adam and Eve’s sin. Dynamic poses, sinuous curves, and bold contrasts of color are characteristics often associated with Rubens and his studio. This painting may have been completed by the artist’s students as a record of the composition of an earlier altarpiece.
| Medium | oil on panel |
| Dimensions | 42 1/16 x 38 in. (106.9 x 96.5 cm) |
| Object Number | 1955.950 |
| Acquisition | Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955 |
| Status | Off View |
Image Caption
Peter Paul Rubens and Studio, The Holy Family under an Apple Tree, c. 1632, oil on panel. Clark Art Institute, 1955.950
Select Bibliography
Brussels.. Cinq siècles d'art.. May 24-Oct. 13, 1935..
Worcester Art Museum.. Exhibition of Flemish Painting, Feb. 23-March 12, 1939; Philadelphia Museum, March 25-April 26, 1939.
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Twelve: Dutch and Flemish Masters. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1960.
Max Rooses.. "Un nouveau Rubens.". vol. 18.. L'Art flamand et hollandais.. (1912)..
. . vol. 37.. Art News Annual.. (Feb. 25, 1939)..
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970.
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1972.
Hans Vlieghe.. Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard.. Antwerp.. 1973..
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984.
Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992.
Held, Julius S. "Old Masters in the Clark Collection, Part I: Paintings." The Magazine Antiques 62, no. 4 (October 1997): 504–9.
