MASTERPIECE

This canvas is a superb example of monumental Flemish history painting. It is unsigned and has caused quite a stir among art historians. There is no question that it is related to the work of Antwerp’s grandmaster Pieter Paul Rubens. But opinions differ about a well-founded attribution of this canvas to a particular artist in Rubens’s circle.

Two Antwerp masters were considered: Erasmus Quellinus II or Jan van den Hoecke. Both worked in the shadow of Rubens’s imposing personality and also copied from him. Some years ago, Hans Vlieghe, emeritus professor at the universities of Antwerp and Leuven, was able to show that this ‘Encounter between Jacob and Esau’ is stylistically consistent with Jan van den Hoecke’s early work. That would make him the creator of this history piece.

An oil sketch of this canvas is kept at the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna. It is considered a copy of a lost oil sketch by Rubens.