Descent From the Cross by Rubens

Did you notice the new header? One of my interests is searching for religious art of past centuries, and while doing so, I came across the Descent From the Cross by artist Rubens (whose art I earlier profiled here).


This painting was commissioned in 1611 and is the second of Rubens's great altarpieces for the Antwerp Cathedral. It shows the Visitation, and the Presentation of the Temple on either side of the Descent from the Cross. It was inspired after the termination of the Calvinist regime in Antwerp in 1585, when the city's churches were gradually decorated once again with works of art, after being stripped of their artistic decor during the protestant revolution. Catholicism and art were gaining a stronghold, and Antwerp was a wealthy city, so religious art once again began decorating the Cathedrals and churches.

If only our churches today would host such magnificent displays of religious imagery!