Episode 4 | The Date 1604
An inscription on the painting has been interpreted as including “P.P. Rubens” and the date “1604”.
But inscriptions must be examined as physical evidence, not accepted as proof on sight.
This episode compares the different readings recorded during the technical investigations in Budapest and Maastricht. It examines the paint layer beneath the inscription, its place within the painting’s history and what the date 1604 can and cannot establish.
The skinny
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