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'''''The Fur''''' or '''''The Pelt''''' (Dutch: ''Het Pelsken''), also called '''''The Little Fur''''' (German: ''Das Pelzchen''), is a {{Circa|1638}} portrait by [[Peter Paul Rubens]] of his second wife [[Helena Fourment]] getting out of her bath and wrapping her voluptuous body in a fur coat. It is now in the [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]] in [[Vienna]].<ref name=":0">''Kunsthistorisches Museum''.</ref>
'''''The Fur''''' or '''''The Pelt''''' (Dutch: ''Het Pelsken''), also called '''''The Little Fur''''' (German: ''Das Pelzchen''), or '''''Helena Fourment in a Fur Robe''''', is a {{Circa|1636–1638}} portrait by [[Peter Paul Rubens]] of his second wife [[Helena Fourment]] getting out of her bath and wrapping her voluptuous body in a fur. It is now in the [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]] in [[Vienna]].<ref name=":0">''Kunsthistorisches Museum''.</ref>


== Description ==
== Description ==
In this life-size portrait of Helena at the age of eighteen, her figure is wrapped only in a short mantle of black fur, loosely gathered round her shoulders and hips.<ref>Knackfuss (tr. Richter) 1904, p. 154.</ref> Her pose recalls the ''[[Venus Pudica|Venus pudica]]'' ({{Lit|modest Venus}}) of Graeco-Roman sculpture, in which the goddess is shown nude as she prepares to bathe, discarding her drapery with one hand, while modestly shielding herself with the other.<ref name=":0" /> Another antecedent is Titian's ''[[Girl in a Fur]]'' (1536–1538), which Rubens knew.<ref name=":0" /><ref>''Queensland Art Gallery''.</ref> He even made a copy of the Titian, having seen it in the collection of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] in England.<ref>Morrall 2003, p. 17.</ref> The execution of contrasting soft white flesh and rich dark fur has been highly praised in both paintings.<ref name=":0" /> [[Andrew Morrall]] writes, "Neither simply a portrait nor purely an image of a mythological deity, this intensely private work has ironically become one of the most celebrated erotic images in Western art."<ref>Morrall 2003, p. 16.</ref>
In this life-size portrait of Helena Fourment at the age of eighteen, her plump figure is wrapped only in a short mantle of black fur, loosely gathered round her shoulders and hips.<ref>Knackfuss (tr. Richter) 1904, p. 154.</ref> Her pose recalls the ''[[Venus Pudica|Venus pudica]]'' ({{Lit|modest Venus}}) of Graeco-Roman sculpture, in which the goddess is shown nude as she prepares to bathe, discarding her drapery with one hand, while modestly shielding herself with the other.<ref name=":0" /> Another antecedent is Titian's ''[[Girl in a Fur]]'' (1536–1538), which Rubens knew.<ref name=":0" /><ref>''Queensland Art Gallery''.</ref> He even made a copy of the Titian, having seen it in the collection of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] in England.<ref>Morrall 2003, p. 17.</ref> The execution of contrasting soft white flesh and rich dark fur has been highly praised in both paintings.<ref name=":0" /> Unlike Titian, who idealises his figures, Rubens depicts dimpled knees and folds of flesh and combines classicism with realism.<ref>Morrall 2003, p. 19.</ref> As [[Andrew Morrall]] notes, "Neither simply a portrait nor purely an image of a mythological deity, this intensely private work has ironically become one of the most celebrated erotic images in Western art."<ref>Morrall 2003, p. 16.</ref>


== History ==
== History ==
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== Gallery ==
== Gallery ==
<gallery heights="150" widths="230" mode="nolines">
<gallery heights="150" widths="200" mode="nolines">
File:Tizian 038.jpg|''[[Girl in a Fur]]'' by Titian, {{Circa|1536–1838}}
File:Helena Fourment in a Fur Robe 1636-38 Rubens Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien Austria - panoramio.jpg|<small>''The Fur'' on display in its current frame</small>
File:H-Fourment Rubens.jpg|<small>''The Fur'' (detail)</small>
File:Helena Fourment in a Fur Robe 1636-38 Rubens Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien Austria - panoramio.jpg|''The Fur'' by Rubens, on display in its current frame
File:Wincenty de Lesseur - Helena Fourment, żona Rubensa.jpg|<small>Copy by [[Wincenty de Lesseur]] in [[Watercolor painting|watercolour]] and [[gouache]] on [[ivory]], 1793 (12.8 x. 8.9 cm)</small>
File:Wincenty de Lesseur - Helena Fourment, żona Rubensa.jpg|Copy by [[Wincenty de Lesseur]] in [[Watercolor painting|watercolour]] and [[gouache]] on [[ivory]], 1793 (12.8 x. 8.9 cm)
</gallery>
</gallery>


Revision as of 12:52, 24 December 2022

The Fur
Yearc. 1636–1638
MediumOil on oak
Dimensions176 cm × 83 cm (69 in × 33 in)
LocationKunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
AccessionGG_688

The Fur or The Pelt (Dutch: Het Pelsken), also called The Little Fur (German: Das Pelzchen), or Helena Fourment in a Fur Robe, is a c. 1636–1638 portrait by Peter Paul Rubens of his second wife Helena Fourment getting out of her bath and wrapping her voluptuous body in a fur. It is now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.[1]

Description

In this life-size portrait of Helena Fourment at the age of eighteen, her plump figure is wrapped only in a short mantle of black fur, loosely gathered round her shoulders and hips.[2] Her pose recalls the Venus pudica (lit. 'modest Venus') of Graeco-Roman sculpture, in which the goddess is shown nude as she prepares to bathe, discarding her drapery with one hand, while modestly shielding herself with the other.[1] Another antecedent is Titian's Girl in a Fur (1536–1538), which Rubens knew.[1][3] He even made a copy of the Titian, having seen it in the collection of Charles I in England.[4] The execution of contrasting soft white flesh and rich dark fur has been highly praised in both paintings.[1] Unlike Titian, who idealises his figures, Rubens depicts dimpled knees and folds of flesh and combines classicism with realism.[5] As Andrew Morrall notes, "Neither simply a portrait nor purely an image of a mythological deity, this intensely private work has ironically become one of the most celebrated erotic images in Western art."[6]

History

According to art historian Louis Hourticq, Rubens was too much in love with his young wife to hesitate to celebrate her beauty in his art. He surprised her one day on the way to her bath, and she yielded to her husband's fancy for painting her as she was. She would be quite naked but for the fur mantle thrown across her shoulders, which she holds in place with a charm.[7] A tradition reported by Emil Michel says that after Rubens died Madame Rubens hesitated to offer some of his pictures for sale, and a special clause in his will gave The Little Fur Coat to her as a personal gift.[8]

Provenance

  • Mentioned in the will of Peter Paul Rubens in 1640;
  • Mentioned in the will of Helena Fourment in 1658;
  • Documented as being in the gallery in Vienna in 1730.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Kunsthistorisches Museum.
  2. ^ Knackfuss (tr. Richter) 1904, p. 154.
  3. ^ Queensland Art Gallery.
  4. ^ Morrall 2003, p. 17.
  5. ^ Morrall 2003, p. 19.
  6. ^ Morrall 2003, p. 16.
  7. ^ Hourticq (tr. Street) 1918, p. 132.
  8. ^ Hourticq (tr. Street) 1918, p. 135.

Sources

  • Hourticq, Louis (1918). Rubens. Street, Frederick (tr.). New York: Duffield & Company. pp. 132, 135, 159
  • Knackfuss, H. (1904). Rubens. Richter, Louise M. (tr.). (Monographs on Artists). New York: Lemcke & Buechner. p. 154.
  • Morrall, Andrew (2003). Rubens. (History & Techniques of the Great Masters). Hertfordshire: Eagle Editions Ltd. pp. 16–19.
  • "Helena Fourment ("Das Pelzchen")". Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  • "Young woman in a fur wrap (after Titian) c.1629–1630". Queensland Art Gallery. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
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