Rubens Documentation

Mention any Rubens work and you are guaranteed to find information about it in our Rubens documentation. This came about thanks to a donation from Ludwig Burchard himself, the person behind the most complete research and collection of works by Peter Paul Rubens to date. Although he did have one condition: the documentation boxes were not allowed to see the light of day before the corresponding theme of the Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard was published. Or rather, is published. This vast research has still not been published yet. You can find an overview of the published sections here.

The collection comprises some 70 running metres of material. Even today, researchers still come across new documents and interesting additions. These are then the basis for updates in the online Corpus. Analogue and digital sources support each other in the research process.    

For the structure of the impressive documentation, the Rubenshuis looked to Buchard's own classification, which in turn is based on the monographic work of Max Rooses, L’oeuvre de P.P. Rubens (1886-1892). A clear thematic arrangement of portraits, still lifes, animal studies, landscapes and hunting scenes, among others.

You can consult the Rubens documentation on request. You can make a request via the online library catalogue. Mention the artwork or theme you want to search, whether or not with LB number or the corresponding number from the Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard. Ruben documentation relating to parts of the Corpus that still need to be published can only be consulted following a reasoned request