The economic boom began in Europe at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries. Bankers, great merchants, kings and nobles expanded or multiplied their palaces and residences, forcing them to commission ever larger paintings to cover their great walls with remarkable sculptures. In 1638, Philip IV suddenly requested 120 works from the painter Pedro Pablo Rubens (1577-1640). But no matter how diligent the workshops were that helped the German artist – Rubens’s was huge, leading him to confess that he could no longer hire any more assistants, “even if they were the mayor’s children” – it was impossible to meet adolescent demand. A large painting could take up to six years to complete, but the artists did not only devote themselves to a single work, but worked on several at the same time. Even like Velázquez, they could go years without a brush, further slowing the promised results. For this reason, the so-called “Venetian technique” was developed. This working method drastically reduced the time needed to create a work of art; a painting that would have taken five years using earlier techniques could be completed in less than a year. No one knows who its creator was, although it is believed that the Venetian Titian (1490-1576) was its pioneer or one of the first to use it. And he showed it to Rubens.
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In October next year, the Prado Museum plans to open the exhibition Rubens’ Workshop, curated by Alejandro Vergara Sharp (Washington, 63 years old), head of the conservation of Flemish paintings at the National Art Gallery. It will recreate with great accuracy what the artistic laboratory of the genius from Siegen (Germany) looked like, including the smells that he breathed in his creation. Of course, given that there are now different hygiene regulations – if there were any in the 17th century – the essence of the poisonous turpentine with which the study was drenched is replaced by another, very similar, but completely harmless one. The exhibition includes fifteen pieces – the Prado is the museum with the most works by Rubens in the world, 92 of the 1,500 he painted – and, thanks to a professional painter, a millimeter-perfect replica of how he expressed his imagination on canvas.
Broadly speaking, the technique consists of prioritizing color and its sensation of light over the forms in which artists recreated themselves before the development of this method. The flamingos, for example, painted millimeter by millimeter, but with the new system they began to do it in layers of paint, starting with a dark background that highlighted the tones of the following superimposed layers. From the 17th century until almost Goya, all painters used this method. “It was what is called the economics of art,” explains Vergara. “Many more paintings were able to be completed, which were a luxury item, and exported to other kingdoms that claimed them. So the artists earned a lot more money because their works were larger and, logically, more expensive.”
“Mercury and Argos” (1636-1638), by Rubens. Prado Museum
Jacobo Alcalde (Madrid, 33 years old) was chosen by the museum as an artist to recreate the work of Rubens. At just nine years old, he managed to get a scholarship from a foundation, and at 19 he saw one of his paintings hanging in the European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) in Barcelona. He has studied Venetian technology for years. “Most painters wrote down their work, so we have a lot of documentation. The problem, however, was reading the texts in Spanish from the 16th or 17th century and, above all, figuring out the measurements [mezclas y porcentajes], because they didn’t declare them,” he emphasizes. “I also had to study textures, transparencies, saturations and color properties to try to recreate the work. The speed at which the brush stroke must be applied is different when using 17th or 21st century paints.”
Using the above technique, Alcalde will copy Rubens’ work “Mercurio y Argos”, exhibited in the Prado. You need at least five months for this. The first thing you need to do is glue the frame and canvas, which have the same dimensions as the original. Next, he ran a pumice stone to eliminate any imperfections in the fabric. He then covered it with a mixture of calcium carbonate, oil and earth. The mixture takes about two weeks to dry, in early December.
He then draws the figures very lightly on the canvas and begins making color bases and a sketch of the volumes. Finally, completely transparent layers of color and final highlights are created in certain parts of the painting. The process ends with painting the work.
The brushes and colors used are the same as in Rubens’ time to achieve the texture and speed of spread of the colors. The brushes contain marten hair (sable, badger or squirrel), which is currently banned. The white lead used by painters – an essential color at the time – was made by placing several rolls of lead in manure and wine vinegar. Everything was buried and after a few weeks a flaky crust was formed, which was mixed with water, linseed and walnut until the desired consistency was achieved. Due to the toxicity of lead, this type of paint is also currently banned.
The entire process is recorded on video by the Prado and shown on large screens in the exhibition. “It’s a real challenge,” says Vergara, while Alcalá admits: “I feel like an alchemist who doesn’t know what he’s getting.”
Of the 120 paintings that Philip IV had requested from Rubens, Rubens replied that he could only deliver 60 sketches on time, although he had 20 assistants in his workshop, including Anton van Dyck (1599–1641). In the end, the German only signed 14. The mayor only has to make one, but without his own workshop to help him and without a teacher to guide him. A real challenge to complete the Prado order on time. Like Rubens.
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