Rubens, upon hearing of his mother's illness…
October 1609 CE
Rubens, upon hearing of his mother's illness in 1608, had planned his departure from Italy for Antwerp.
She had died, however, before he made it home.
His return had coincided with a period of renewed prosperity in the city with the signing of Treaty of Antwerp in April 1609, which had initiated the Twelve Years' Truce.
Rubens had been in September of this year been appointed as court painter by Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, the governors of the Low Countries.
He has received special permission to base his studio in Antwerp instead of at their court in Brussels, and to also work for other clients.
He will remain close to the Archduchess Isabella until her death in 1633, and will be called upon not only as a painter but also as an ambassador and diplomat.
Rubens further cements his ties to the city when, on October 3, 1609, he marries Isabella Brant, the daughter of a leading Antwerp citizen and humanist, Jan Brant.
The Honeysuckle Bower (around 1609) is a self-portrait of Rubens and Isabella.
The painting is a full-length double portrait of the couple seated in a bower (wikt) of honeysuckle.
They are surrounded by love and marriage symbolism: the honeysuckle and garden are both traditional symbols of love, and the holding of right hands (junctio dextrarum) represents union through marriage.
Additionally, Rubens depicts himself as an aristocratic gentleman with his left hand on the hilt of his sword.
Images
Pieter Paul Rubens: The Honeysuckle Bower (ca. 1609) Oil on canvas, 178 cm × 136.5 cm (70 in × 53.7 in) Alte Pinakothek, Munich
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