A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning

Rubens bought the manor of Het Steen near Mechelen in 1635, a country estate for a man who by then had painted for kings and negotiated between them. This picture, from around 1636, is one he made for himself rather than a patron, and you can feel the difference. The sun has just come up on an autumn morning, low and cool, throwing long shadows and catching dew on the meadows and the windows of the house. The viewpoint sits high, so you can wander the scene and find its small events one by one, a man creeping up on partridges, a cart heading to market, the lord and lady out near their land. Rubens was in his late fifties and often unwell, and this was the country he retreated to.