Sitters Identified in Stuggart Rubens Double Portrait
January 19 2021
Picture: Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The recently published Rubenianum Quarterly features a short article on the above double portrait by Peter Paul Rubens. This large oil on canvas, now in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, has been unidentified for some time. The attribution too has changed over the centuries. It was given to Van Dyck some time ago, but is now rightfully considered a Genoese period portrait by Rubens.
The article explains that archival research has helped to identify the pair as Geronima Spinola and her Granddaughter Maria Giovanna Serra. One of the details that clinched it was that Geronima was widowed in 1604 and became a nun. The sombre clothing in this portrait seems to be suggestive of a lady in mourning alongside her religious vows.
The painting will be featured in a Rubens exhibition due to be held in Stuttgart this year between 22nd October 2021 - 20th February 2022.
