A Stylish Homage to Peter Paul Rubens’s Venus, the Mother of Pearls

Icons of Art History

In his resplendent Venus in Front of the Mirror (ca. 1614–15), Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640) presents the voluptuous goddess of love with her back to the viewer. Through a mirror held up by her son, the boyish god Amor, her alluring gaze meets ours.

"Venus in Front of the Mirror." Peter Paul Rubens. Oil on panel, 123 x 98 cm., ca. 1614/15. Presumably acquired in 1712 by Prince Johann Adam Andreas I von Liechtenstein GE 120. Princely Collections of Liechtenstein, Vienna

 

A representation of consummate beauty, the enchanting Venus flaunts her silky skin and hair like spun gold. With the exception of the gauzy fabric draped across her lap, she wears nothing but a jeweled adornment around her arm and a pair of pearl earrings: one white, the other appearing black in its shadowy reflection. 

"Venus in Front of the Mirror" (detail). Peter Paul Rubens. Oil on panel, 123 x 98 cm., ca. 1614/15. Presumably acquired in 1712 by Prince Johann Adam Andreas I von Liechtenstein GE 120. Princely Collections of Liechtenstein, Vienna

Unique Gifts for Her

According to Roman mythology, pearls are the tears of joy shed by Venus, who was born from sea foam. As such, she’s frequently portrayed wearing pearls. Embrace your inner goddess with our Venus Pearl Drop Earrings, which mimic the pearls as rendered by Rubens in his sumptuous painting, now in the Princely Collections of Liechtenstein.

Venus Pearl Drop Earrings Jewelry from The Met Store

Peter Paul Rubens at The Met

One of the greatest and most influential Flemish artists of the 17th century, Rubens remains beloved for his fabulous, often fleshy portraits, several of which are in The Met collection. 

"Venus and Adonis." Peter Paul Rubens. Oil on canvas, 77 3/4 x 95 5/8 in., probably mid-1630s. Gift of Harry Payne Bingham, 1937 37.162

 

Among them is a painting thought to be the artist’s earliest dated work: a portrait of a man, possibly an architect or geographer based upon the instruments he holds. Made in 1597, this impressive piece is one of Rubens’s few known paintings completed before his transformative trip to Italy in the year 1600.

Portrait of a Man, Possibly an Architect or Geographer. Peter Paul Rubens. Oil on copper, 8 1/2 x 5 3/4 in., 1597. The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982 1982.60.24

 

Supported by commissions from the duke of Mantua, Genoese nobility, and the Catholic church, among other significant local patrons, Rubens basked in the glory of Italian art—the exemplary portraits of Raphael (Italian, 1483–1520) and the drama and detail of Caravaggio (Italian, 1571–1610).

Bust of Pseudo-Seneca. Peter Paul Rubens. Pen and brown ink over black chalk heightened with white, with brush and gray ink; 10 7/16 x 6 15/16 in.; 1600–1626. Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 1975.1.843

 

By the time Rubens returned to Antwerp about eight years later, he had painted some of the most important altarpieces in Italy. His experience abroad laid the groundwork for his extraordinary output of religious imagery, facilitated by a large and busy workshop of assistants and aspiring artists. 

"Saint Teresa of Avila Interceding for Souls in Purgatory." Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens. Oil on wood, 25 1/4 x 19 1/4 in. Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 17.190.19

 

Rubens’s sensational style united the whimsy and imagination of Northern European art with the Italian emphasis on proportion, perspective, and anatomy. The highly sought-after artist would serve as a court painter to Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella, who governed the Southern Netherlands from Brussels on behalf of Spain; create altarpieces for Antwerp churches; paint magnificent scenes such as The Met's The Wolf and Fox Hunt (ca. 1616) for noble patrons like the duke of Bavaria; and join forces with his contemporaries on private commissions. The Museum's The Feast of Acheloüs (ca. 1615) is one example of his collaborative projects, in which Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder (Netherlandish, 1568–1625) combine nudes based partly on classical sculpture with the wonders of nature and the mastery of craft. Such an encyclopedic display would have appealed to the most sophisticated collectors.

"The Feast of Acheloüs." Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder. Oil on wood, 42 1/2 x 64 1/2 in., ca. 1615. Gift of Alvin and Irwin Untermyer, in memory of their parents, 1945 45.141

 

By the late 1620s, the insatiable demand for Rubens’s work made him feel like “the most harassed man in the world,” as he complained in his plentiful correspondence. And yet it fostered the many moving masterpieces that we still marvel at today.

Rubens, Helena Fourment, and Their Son Frans. Peter Paul Rubens. Oil on wood, 80 1/4 x 62 1/4 in., ca. 1635. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, in honor of Sir John Pope-Hennessy, 1981 1981.238

 

Rubens, whose birthday we celebrate on June 28, died in 1640, leaving behind a profoundly influential body of expressive work that inspired subsequent generations of larger-than-life artists, from Jean Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732–1806) to Sir Joshua Reynolds (British, 1723–1792) and Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798–1863).

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