Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard XXV.
The Theoretical Notebook

The theoretical notebook is the subject of the forthcoming parts of the Corpus Rubenianum, by Professor Emeritus Arnout Balis (Free University of Brussels) in collaboration with David Jaffé, former curator of the National Gallery, London.

The Theoretical Notebook

At the beginning of 2012 the King Baudouin Foundation purchased a notebook with Rubens’s theoretical notes at a sale in New York. It is one of the four known copies of Rubens’s handwritten notebook (1600-1635), which perished in 1720 in the fire that ravaged the studio of André-Charles Boulle. The notebook, which is known as “the De Ganay manuscript,” contains sketches, annotated drawings, and writings by Rubens. The material includes the artist’s ideas on perspective, anatomy, proportions, symmetry, and architecture, as well as his reflections on the study of human passions, in which he draws comparisons between literature and painting.

The De Ganay manuscript was probably copied in the 17th century by someone from Rubens’s circle, several years after the master’s death, with a view to publication. The book is a fascinating testament to the fact that Rubens was not only a great artist but also a remarkable and erudite theorist. He was well read in both ancient and contemporary writings. He was familiar with the main theories of his day and had his own opinions about them. In one surprising section, Rubens draws comparisons between human anatomy and that of other animals. Very few of his theoretical writings have survived, which makes this manuscript a truly unique document.