The latest exhibition of Flemish Baroque paintings from the National Museum collection in Poznań took a relatively short time to prepare. The starting point for it was The Rest on the Flight to Egypt, a drawing by Peter Paul Rubens from the gallery of Count Atanazy Raczyński, once part of the collection of King Stanislas Augustus Poniatowski. For centuries, the drawing hid a mystery which was finally uncovered during conservation works in 1992. On the back of the drawing, conservators found a delicate outline in black crayon depicting a young woman embraced by a man. The woman is pushed by a putto (a naked figure of Cupid as a child) towards a sitting couple. The very same group of figures is the motif of the left section of a Rubens painting entitled The Garden of Love. Researchers say, however, that instead of the painting, the sketch on the reverse should be linked to a preparatory drawing for a printed version of The Garden of Love.

Alongside Rubens, the exhibition features other Flemish masters such as Anton van Dyck, Frans Snyders, Daniel Seghers and Pieter Boel. Most of the works on display are not shown to the public on an everyday basis. The canvases include historical, allegorical and religious works, including the monumental Christ Carried by Angels by van Dyck, as well as portraits and genre scenes with images of everyday life in Flanders. One of the most monumental paintings is Wild Boar Hunt by Frans Snyders.

D.P.
The exhibition is open through Oct. 18
at the National Museum in Poznań at 9 Marcinkowskiego Ave.