On arrival at Antwerp Alfonso and Leo rode to one of the stately
cathedrals, near which a military band was playing. Before the church
stood a bronze statue of Peter Paul Rubens. The scrolls and books,
which lie on the pedestal, with brush, palette, and hat, are allusions
to the varied pursuits of Rubens as diplomatist, statesman, and painter.
The two young artists hastened into the cathedral to see Rubens's famous
pictures, The Descent from the Cross, and The Assumption. His conception
and arrangement were admirable, his drawing carefully done, and his
coloring harmonious and masterly.
Rubens, the prince of Flemish painters, was knighted. He was handsome and
amiable, and his celebrity as an artist procured for him the friendship
and patronage of princes and men of distinction throughout Europe.
Not far from the cathedral the young artists came to the museum, in
front of which rises a statue to Van Dyck, pupil of Rubens. "Here,
Alfonso," said Leo, "is encouragement for you, for Van Dyck like yourself
was the son of a wealthy man or merchant of Antwerp. He was educated in
Italy, where he executed several fine portraits which I saw in Genoa as
I journeyed to Paris." Charles I.
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