'The oil sketches particularly appeal to the modern beholder.They are admired because of the delightful spontaneity of their execution;the economy of their colours; the sense they convey of a boundlessand yet marvellously controlled imagination; and the ability of the artistto condense, within the confines of very small surfaces, compositionswhich in their final form very often covered entire walls.'Julius S. Held, The Oil Sketches of Peter Paul Rubens (198o)

It is with great pleasure that we present this exhibition, 'Peter Paul Rubens: A Touch of Brilliance', the first of what we anticipate to be many exhibitions jointly organised by The State Hermitage Museum and the Courtauld Institute of Art as a consequence of the formal alliance between our two institutions, effected in August 2003.

This alliance will allow us to develop exchange programmes involving exhibitions, students and scholars. The State Hermitage Museum is, of course, one of the world's great museums, just as the Courtauld Institute of Art is one of the world's great centres for the study of art history and the conservation of art. Our alliance draws on the expertise and intellectual and material resources of our two institutions. We are grateful for the generosity of the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation for their support of this alliance, and for the encouragement and approval provided by the trustees of the Hermitage Development Trust and the governors of the Courtauld Institute of Art.

Trustees and Supporters 6

Directors' Foreword 7

Drawing in Colour 9

Joanna Woodall

'Everything connected with Rubens interests me'

Collecting Rubens' Oil Sketches: The Case of Count Antoine Seilern 23

Ernst Vegelin van Claerbergen

Rubens in 1611: The Turning Point 31

Alexey Larionov

The Role of Sketches in Rubens' Work on the Ceiling

of the Banqueting House of the Palace of Whitehall 45

Natalya Gritsay

CATALOGUE

Stephanie-Suzanne Durante

The Descent from the Cross 54

The Assumption of the Virgin 62

The Conversion of St Paul 66

The Ceilings of the Jesuit Church, Antwerp 74

The Medici Cycle 86

The Ceiling of the Banqueting House, Whitehall 94

The Triumphal Entry of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand into Antwerp 102

Additional Works 112

Lenders to the Exhibition

and Photographic Credits 127