Palace opens treasure trove of Flemish paintings

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-17 15:49

But the painting soon fell into the hands of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II who, fearful of angering his relatives in the Spanish court, ordered artists to paint over the dead children.

A baby lying in the snow at it's mother's feet is now an array of hams and cheeses while small animals, bundles of food, and ominous smudges conceal the bloody scenes.

UNFASHIONABLE FLEMISH

Shawe-Taylor said he hoped the collection's universal themes, ranging from scenes of war to erotic love, and several works by Rubens would help attract more than 70,000 visitors to see a style of art not always popular with the public.

Even Michelangelo once condemned the Flemish style, saying it would only appeal to women, the very young or old, monks, nuns, and noblemen.

One highlight for Rubens fans is a self-portrait which he donated to Charles I to make up for an embarrassing blunder.

Two years earlier, Rubens had ordered his assistants to paint a lion hunt rather than do it himself, not knowing the work was destined for Charles I. The king, an avid art collector, immediately recognized the deception and returned it.

Rubens and Snyder's painting "Pythagoras Advocating Vegetarianism," bought by Queen Victoria, is also on show, although not officially part of the collection.

Only recently restored, it is one of the Royal Collection's 7,000 paintings which are normally on loan or in storage.

Looming over the collection's golden chairs and ornate clocks, Rubens's giant painting depicts the Greek mathematician and famous vegetarian. Pythagoras is shown trying to convince a group of men to give up meat for fruit and vegetables while buxom naked women look on in admiration.

The Queen's Gallery, built from the ruins of the palace chapel which was destroyed by an air raid in 1940, will host the exhibition until April next year.

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