Miracles of St. Francis Xavier (Rubens)

A contract was created between Rubens and Jacobus Tirinus, the head of the Antwerp Jesuits in 1620.[1] The contract stated that Rubens must create at least thirty-nine ceiling paintings and two large paintings for the church, in which he will be rewarded with ten thousand florins.[1] The two large paintings would then be displayed in rotation.[1] This painting and The Miracles of St. Ignatius of Loyola became the two altarpieces for the church.[2] By the time the contract was signed, the two altarpieces were already completed.[1] This altarpiece was completed before St. Francis Xavier became a saint in 1622.[3]

This painting, along with The Miracles of St. Ignatius of Loyola, were purchased by the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa after a fire caused the St. Charles Borromeo Church to close in 1773.[4] They are currently in the Kunsthistorisches Museum located in Vienna.[4]

The main figure, St. Francis Xavier, is on the right side of the altarpiece, standing on a platform.[1] Different events are combined and used to display St. Francis Xavier performing many miracles.[4] On the left side of the altarpiece, a baby is being held by the mother.[4] The baby has water coming from his mouth.[2] There are people rising from the dead.[4] Next to the mother and baby is a male figure that looks similar to a figure in another art piece created by Rubens, The Great Last Judgement.[4] Near the upper left corner of the altarpiece between the two columns, there is statue that wears a crown and has an open mouth at the middle portion of the body.[5] The figure is positioned like it is in the motion of falling.[5] On the right side, there is a blind man that is reaching out with his arms.[4]

As a result of the Counter-Reformation, Rubens' paintings focused strongly on Catholic doctrine.[4] The paintings contained a lot of dynamic movement, barely visible outlines, and variety of tones.[1] The theme of miracles is a key component to the altarpiece.[4] This was used to show that St. Francis Xavier had the ability to perform miracles and restore faith to the Roman Catholic Church.[3] St. Francis Xavier's abilities in this painting were used as propaganda as a part of his canonization trials.[7] His ability to resurrect the dead made him closer to heavenly figures.[7]

It is suggested that the setting of the painting focuses on St. Francis Xavier's missionary actions in Asia.[8] These actions caused people to spread word about his miracles.[8] Researchers know that Rubens received information about the geography and history of Asian culture from Theodore de Bry.[8] Rubens used this information and information he knew about European culture, which resulted in a setting that combined aspects of both cultures.[8] It is known that the baby being held by the mother symbolizes the event when St. Francis Xavier resurrected a baby from drowning in India.[2] In the middle of the painting, there are men in Korean outfits who symbolize people who initially questioned St. Francis Xavier's ability to perform his miracles.[2] They were eventually convinced of St. Francis Xavier's ability.[2]

Chinese Figure

Man in Korean Costume, c. 1617, black and red chalk, J. Paul Getty Museum

There is a figure wearing a Korean attire in the center of the painting.[10] This figure resembles the subject of one Rubens's drawings, Man in Korean Costume.[10] Rubens used foreign attire in his paintings to add dramatic effects.[10] The figure was originally going to wear Turkish attire, but the Jesuits wanted a variety of clothing to represent their activity in Asia.[10] They did not have a direct relationship with Korea during the seventeenth century, but they learned about the country through their activities in China.[10] The Jesuits displayed their victories and activities outside the country by displaying foreign attire in art pieces.[10] The Korean attire in this painting symbolizes the belief that Catholicism was superior while demoting paganism to a primitive status.[10] Recently research had proven that , the man is actually a chinese catholic from Ming dynasty of China . The confusion was made because of the similarities on clothing. [11]

• Baudouin, Frans. (1989). Pietro Pauolo Rubens. London, England: Bracken Books: 20, 106, 157–158.
• Boeckl, Christine. (1996). "Plague Imagery as Metaphor for Heresy in Rubens' The Miracles of Saint Francis Xavier." The Sixteenth Century Journal 27(4): 979–995
• Burchard, L. (1963). Rubens Drawings. Brussels: Arcade Press. 154, 179–181.
• Downes, Kerry. (2003). Rubens /. London: Chaucer: 122–123, 128.
• Glen, Thomas L. (1977). Rubens and the Counter Reformation: Studies in His Religious Paintings between 1609 and 1620 /. New York:: Garland Pub.
• Miller, Rachel. (2018). "Peter Paul Rubens's Investigation of the Origins of Idolatry and Iconoclasm in the Jesuit Church of Antwerp." IKON: 127–140.
• Sauerländer, Willibald. (2014). "New Saints and Reinvigorated Veneration of the Saints." The Catholic Rubens. Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute: 90–96.
• Schrader, Stephanie. (2013). Looking East: Rubens's encounter with Asia. Los Angeles: Getty Publications. 1–7, 39–60.
• Spinks, Jennifer. (2014). "The Southern Indian 'Devil in Calicut' in Early Modern Northern Europe: Images, Texts and Objects in Motion." Journal of Early Modern History 18(1/2): 15–48.doi:1163/15700658-12342383.
• Uppenkamp, Barbara. (2016). "'Indian' motifs in Peter Paul Rubens's The martyrdom of Saint Thomas and The miracles of Saint Francis Xavier." Nederlandsch kunsthistorisch jaarboek. 66:112–141.