London – Westminster (Borough of) – Wallace Collection (The Rainbow Landscape by Peter Paul Rubens)

I hadn’t realised how many artworks that Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) had painted, which was over 1,400, so it’s no surprise how many museums and galleries he appears in. This painting dates to around 1636 and it’s of the land outside Rubens’s country house, Het Steen, near Antwerp. It was painted towards the end of his life and the gallery say, as I hardly knew this, that it was only during this period that he worked on landscapes.

Fortunately, the Wallace Collection have uploaded a clear version of the painting, one that doesn’t have a bronze animal in front of it. This is one of a pair of paintings, with the other being in the National Gallery in London (although it’s noted as not being on display at the moment), painted for his own enjoyment and to hang on his own walls. It must be handy being one of the greatest artists of the century if you fancy decorating your front room, it gives you some options….

Anyway, the gallery has placed on its web-site a handy video of how to understand this painting, which is useful as I usually miss everything of note. It’s painted on wooden panels, and it is noticeable on the right-hand side where the artwork may have been extended. It was purchased by Richard Seymour-Conway in 1856 and was given to the nation in 1897 by Lady Wallace.