A 20th-century copy after Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), ‘Minerva and Mercury Conduct the Duke of Buckingham to the Temple of Virtue,’ 1627, Oil on canvas, Osterley House, London
In 1949, a devastating fire in a warehouse on the island of Jersey destroyed a large part of the Child family’s world-class art collection, including a ceiling canvas painting by Peter Paul Rubens. The collection had been relocated to Jersey after the family donated their London residence, Osterley House, to the National Trust.
The original ceiling painting, titled “The Apotheosis of the Duke of Buckingham,” was created by Rubens around 1627, just a year before the Duke’s assassination. This piece and an equestrian portrait of the Duke were commissioned for York House, Buckingham’s London residence. Rubens had met the Duke in Paris in 1625 during the marriage by proxy of Charles I of England to Henrietta Maria of France. Buckingham, a favourite of James I and Charles I, sought an allegorical political portrait based on Rubens’s renowned formula, often used to depict powerful European monarchs.
In the painting, the Duke of Buckingham is depicted wearing Roman-inspired armour, being carried upwards through the heavens by Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and war, and Mercury, the messenger of the gods. Below, the allegorical figure of Envy attempts to drag him down while Minerva and Mercury guide him towards the Temple of Virtue. The Three Graces reach out to offer him a crown of flowers and putti to enhance the vibrancy and dynamism of the scene.
A 20th-century copy of Rubens’s painting now adorns the Great Stair at Osterley, replacing the original. Fortunately, the original preparatory oil sketch for this ceiling painting is preserved in the National Gallery in London. This modello sketch exemplifies Rubens’s masterful use of foreshortening and composition, specifically for ceiling installation.
