The significant difference between the appearance of The Wilton Diptych (c.1395-99) and Peace and War (1629-30) by Rubens are through the scale difference of these painting are opposite, the altarpiece is very small as its function was to be portable. While Rubens’ is huge as it was to be hung in the palace.
In addition, another major difference is the composition and space. For instance, the composition is balanced and busy. Rubens’ leads our eyes around the painting with his use of horizontal composition from left to right adding more drama and more space amongst the figures; creating depth. Conversely, in the Wilton Diptych is unbalanced and the right being very busy. Our eye is drawn left to right through the Saints, Richard to Mary and Child and the angels.
On the inside of the Diptych is Saint Edmund depicted in a rich colourful robe and crown holding an arrow, Saint Edward the Confessor depicted in white robes and a crown holding a ring and Saint John the Baptist who is depicted in brown rags, a halo and holding a lamb. Richard depicted kneeling wearing a red embellished cloak with the stag and broom pods, a crown and a necklace. He is depicted young with pale skin and idealised golden hair; facing Mary. On the right is the Virgin Mary who is depicted in a dark blue drapery holding Christ with a halo. Christ is depicted nude but wrapped in a golden shawl with a decorative halo of thorns prefiguring his Crucifixion. Eleven angels surrounding them wearing blue robes, rose chaplets with golden ringlets and white hart badges and broom pods. On the left-hand side, one of the angles holds the flag of George with an orb which depicts a tiny island with a white tower and a white ship symbolising England.
However, Rubens’ is an allegory painting depicting mythological figures, for example, Venus is shown squirting milk from her breast into the mouth of a child. Above, Minerva the goddess of wisdom presented as a soldier holding up a large shield to ward off Mars the god of War and Allecto the fury of war. Above is a putto holding an olive wreath and a caduceus. Two nymphs’ approach from the left; one holds a basket full of jewels and cups and the other dances to a tambourine. Below there is a Satyr who holds up fruit for the children and Cupid who leads the children to a cornucopia. Below the Satyr is a leopard which acts like a domestic cat playing with the vine. To the left of the children Hymen the god of marriage, places a wreath upon the head of a girl.
Both paintings depict an exterior, however the Wilton Diptych, there is no background just stippled gold leaf, however, on the right, there is grass with symbolic flowers dividing Earth to Heaven. While Rubens’ has a landscape in the left corner and branches of trees emerging in the painting.
The materials used in this altarpiece are very rich pigments such as ultramarine, lead white and lots of gold leaf on wood panels; because of the rich pigments, the colour are vivid and bright. Similarly, the colour palette used in Peace and War are rich sumptuous colours such as rich reds, browns, golds, and greens used to create the various textures and fabrics and to define emotions. Rubens' choice of colours results in a harmonious image that is a feast for the eyes.
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The significant difference between these painting would be their commission and function. Firstly, the Wilton Diptych was commission by King Richard II himself and used for private worship. The diptych was a small portable altarpiece Richard could take with him and pray wherever and its physical nature is essentially that of a portable altarpiece which could be closed like a book and set up on the altars of different churches and chapels . The subject matter of the painting depicted Saints, Virgin Mary and Child, angels and Richard himself this portraying it was intended for private religious devotion.
Contrarily, Peace and War by Rubens was an antiwar painting commissioned by King Philip IV of Spain. Rubens was sent to England to negotiate peace with Charles I and stayed with Sir Balthasar Gerbier, a painter-diplomat in the service of Charles I. The subject matter was tailored to Charles as he enjoyed classical antiquity as well as Rubens being the best allegory painter. Overall Peace and War was ‘a gift to Charles I, it rounded off the artists’s political activity in England’ unlike the Wilton Diptych inspired piety and was private.
There was no set location for the Diptych, it was commissioned to be small, portable so Richard could travel with it. However, Rubens painting’s location was intended for Charles’ palace of White Hall, London. It was originally a big painting, but Rubens kept adding canvas onto the original; adding more figures so the painting is a vast with it being over two meters tall and nearly three meters wide. The scale shows the significant difference of these paintings are the figures are tiny in the Diptych and big in the Rubens.
The significant different between the appearance of the Wilton Diptych and Rubens are through composition and the narrative. For instance, the overall composition is balanced and busy, Rubens’ leads our eyes around the painting. It tells a story which is interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning; political and moral. The young girl in the foreground staring out towards the viewer draws the viewer into the painting.
Conversely, in the Wilton Diptych’s narrative reads from left to right and portrays a message that ‘the king will eventually be transferred from the wasteland in which he kneels to the flowery meadow, having been redeemed by Christ’ Passion and Resurrection’.
The painting is a ‘complex web allusion operating on both secular and religious level’ and portrays a message through the subject matter. It portrays symbolic meaning through the figures and features for example, Richard’s necklace, cloak and the flag of George. The white hart badge is a white stag sitting down on a bed of rosemary with a crown around its neck and a chain. The stag is an important symbol of King Richard and is shown throughout this painting for example his cloak and refers to his mother Princess Joan were the white badge originally came from. Another patronage symbol of Richard’s was the ‘Broom’ pods which was his 2nd wife’s family symbol. In 1396 Richard and Charles VI of France make an alliance and Isabella of France married to Richard; adopting his father-in-law’s symbol which was a broom pod. Richard is depicted very young, he was around 30-33-years-old when this was painted, this suggesting that Christ is blessing him and crowning him as King hence why depicted so young and Christ handing the Flag of George to him.
Rubens’ allegory painting depicts the subject matter for an antiwar painting is a visual plea for peace between England and Spain from Philip IV. Throughout the painting it has symbolic messages for example, Venus is shown squirting milk from her breast into the mouth of Plutus. This shows that peaceful relations nurture prosperity amongst the people and that mankind can prosper socially and economically from peace. Next to Venus, Mars and Minerva represent Spain and England as they are both gods and very powerful; they should not be fighting each other and should be fighting together as allies. Another symbolic meaning in this painting is Above Venus is a putto holding an olive wreath which is a symbol of peace and the caduceus of Mercury who is the messenger of the gods. This showing Charles that the gods believe they should be in peace and not war. On the left are two nymphs’; one holds a basket full of jewels and cups which signify indulgence in good spirits and a reason to celebrate life, the other dances to a tambourine. Below the nymphs is a Satyr whom holds up fruit for the children and a winged cupid leads the children to a cornucopia. This symbols of the future of mankind, as they are the ones who will benefit the most from peace. And below the Satyr is a leopard which acts like a domestic cat playing with the vine; its wild nature is tamed by the events taking place. The satyr and leopard are also a part of the entourage of Bacchus, another fertility god, and leopards also draw Bacchus's chariot. This showing evidence that the Venus is Venus as ‘the leopard and satyr are creatures associated with Bacchus as is the woman, or Bacchante, who plays the tambourine. Their presence in the painting thus helps to identify the central figure, for it is Venus who is associated with the wine god … without food and wine Venus freezes’. Finally, Hymen is depicted to the left of the children god of marriage, who places a wreath upon the head of a girl; which comes to represent the prospect of marriage and life and a worthwhile future.
Overall, Peace and War has a deeper message as well as entertaining Charles’ classical antiquity interest, it is also a message to him about the peace between these two powerful countries and if Charles chose peace rather than war there will be plenty, money, happiness and safety. For example, Belkin says ‘despite the glowing colours, the scrumptious imagery and sensuous female nudes, the picture is a political allegory rather than a guide to sex – its message is peace, not physical pleasures.’
The two paintings have a different medium; egg tempura on wood and oil on canvas. Firstly, the Wilton Diptych is painted in egg tempura which was widely practiced in the fourteenth-century and was painted onto an oak panel. The materials used on ‘the painted surface was originally extremely rich’ leading to its wealth and status by the King, for example the use of ultramarine which is a very expensive, high quality pigment. The pigment originally comes from a rock called lapis lazuli which is from Afghanistan, so the pigment was rare and located a long distance. The overall colour palette is very vivid and bright which classical international gothic style. As well as the use of white lead widely used in this diptych for instance on Richard’s necklace ‘it has been thickly painted in raised layers of lead white to achieve a sculptural quality, creating the impression of a jewel’. However gold leaf is the most widespread material used on this painting, the gold backgrounds are applied after the layer of bole and then burnished. The talented artist stippled all of the gold leaf with different elegant patterns. For example, a floral pattern on the left and a foliate pattern on the right and the Saints’ halos. Christ’s halo has been finely stippled and the artist ‘created a crown of thorn and three nails’.
The overall techniques are a combination of northern and Italian methods, Gordon describes the artist as truly European due to his techniques and methods.
Compared to the Wilton Diptych’s fourteenth-century style Rubens’ material, style and colour palette is dissimilar because Rubens’ was a seventeenth-century Flemish painter who loved the renaissance tradition. The figures in this painting are classical renaissance with the idealised body proportions. Rubens’ is famous for his human body form for example the women are beautifully pale and beautiful with small breast and wide child bearing hips. While the men are portrayed with muscular body, strong arms and torsos, this is really shown in the Satyr’s body. Peace and War is a big painting full of large energetic figures this is shown through the brushwork as Rubens plays playfully with the quick strokes. This is classical Rubens, for example Allecto is portrayed in a similar way to Rubens’ earlier painting of Consequences of War. Allecto is depicted as ugly and in a rough quick brushstroke, fading into Mars and the background this giving a deeper and more dramatic result. The artist has adopted a new technique by using a bold abundance colour palette; defining the depth, volume and natural flow.