Disrobing the Obscurity of Het Pelsken

Description/Abstract/Artist Statement

In 1638, the Flemish artist and diplomat Peter Paul Rubens dedicated his painting Het Pelsken or The Little Fur to his second wife, Helena Fourment. This sensual, yet intimate full-length portrait captures the painter’s wife in an untraditional and highly erotic manner. Many scholars tend to focus their interpretations on the sexual aspects of the painting. Instead, this paper serves to reveal the additional indicators throughout Het Pelsken that allude to Rubens’ own response to the religious conflicts and gender ideas prevalent in Northern Europe during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.

Presenting Author Name/s

Ireland O'Hare

Faculty Advisor/Mentor

Anne Muraoka

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Disciplines

Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture

Session Title

Art History 1

Location

Learning Commons @ Perry Library Conference Room 1306

Start Date

2-2-2019 9:00 AM

End Date

2-2-2019 10:00 AM

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Feb 2nd, 9:00 AM Feb 2nd, 10:00 AM

Disrobing the Obscurity of Het Pelsken

Learning Commons @ Perry Library Conference Room 1306

In 1638, the Flemish artist and diplomat Peter Paul Rubens dedicated his painting Het Pelsken or The Little Fur to his second wife, Helena Fourment. This sensual, yet intimate full-length portrait captures the painter’s wife in an untraditional and highly erotic manner. Many scholars tend to focus their interpretations on the sexual aspects of the painting. Instead, this paper serves to reveal the additional indicators throughout Het Pelsken that allude to Rubens’ own response to the religious conflicts and gender ideas prevalent in Northern Europe during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.