Preface
This year’s Point of View addresses an issue that concerns authorship and collaboration in the creation of an artwork. The canvas painting Jupiter and Mercury with Philemon and Baucis is a fascinating instance of Rubens’s workshop production and illustrates how attribution practices have varied greatly over time. In recent years, research has examined Rubens’s workshop from different angles. In the following, the painting and its context will be explored against this background.
The authors would like to extend their thanks to several colleagues: Peter Kerber, director of the gallery, for inspiring debates; Guido Messling, who has been a dedicated curator of the Point of View series from the outset; Eva Götz, who shared her technological insights with us; Elke Oberthaler, director of the restoration workshop, who has benevolently supported the project; Teresa Krah and Selma Kurtagić for the practical realization of the small focus exhibition; Kirsten Pilling and Christine Surtmann for organizing the opening; Stefan Zeisler and his team for exceptional image material and graphical translation; Benjamin Mayr, who calmly managed this publication from behind the scenes; and last but not least, Karin Zeleny, for proofreading and editing the texts with her usual patience and expertise.
Gerlinde Gruber would also like to thank Elizabeth McGrath and Bert Schepers, who reviewed a version of the text and enriched it with their valuable comments.