Peter Paul Rubens
, Flemish, 1577-1640 and
Studio of
Peter Paul Rubens
, Flemish, 1577-1640
Title
Saint DominicDatec.1635
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
183.8 x 93.6 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 1895
Object numberNGI.427
Label TextThis painting and its companion (hanging on the other side of the doorway) depict Saints Dominic and Francis, the founders of the Dominican and the Franciscans orders respectively. The orders had been a dominant force in religious life for a long time. However, they had lost some of their power by the time Rubens painted these two works, partly because of the rise of new orders founded during the Counter-Reformation. Saint Dominic, and particularly Saint Francis, however, continued to be popular saints and were venerated throughout the Catholic world. Saint Dominic can be identified by his two symbols: the dog with a torch in its mouth and a star on the saint’s forehead.