Artwork
Landscape: A Storm
Landscape: A Storm is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Peter Paul Rubens. It dates from 1620 and is held in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work functions as a landscape painting that captures the raw power of nature rather than relying on complex allegorical symbolism.
Peter Paul Rubens's Landscape: A Storm depicts a dramatic rural scene dominated by turbulent weather conditions. The composition features a hay wagon pulled by a horse, with a human figure present amidst the unfolding tempest. These elements combine to illustrate the immediate physical impact of a storm on the countryside and its inhabitants.
The work functions as a landscape painting that captures the raw power of nature rather than relying on complex allegorical symbolism. By focusing on the interaction between the man, the animal, and the vehicle during severe weather, the artwork represents a moment of natural intensity and human vulnerability within an agricultural setting.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1620, this work is an oil painting on canvas measuring 54 by 69 cm. The composition depicts a dramatic landscape scene featuring a hay wagon, a horse, and a figure caught within a storm. As a landscape genre piece, the artist utilizes oil paint to render the atmospheric turbulence and natural elements characteristic of the subject matter.
History & Provenance
The work was painted by Peter Paul Rubens around 1620. It entered the Ashmolean Museum in 1855 as a gift from Chambers Hall, whose presentation is recorded in the museum’s accession ledger as WA1855.164. No documented commission or earlier provenance prior to Chambers Hall’s ownership has been traced in the sources.
The painting Landscape: A Storm is held in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum. It was acquired by the institution in 1855 through a presentation from Chambers Hall, who is recorded as the owner. The work is cataloged under the accession number WA1855.164. No specific exhibition history is provided in the available records.
Context
Landscape: A Storm (1620) by Peter Paul Rubens is a canonical example of his mature landscape oeuvre, blending Baroque dynamism with a heightened atmospheric sensibility. Executed in oil on canvas (54 cm × 69 cm), the work depicts a dramatic scene of a man, a storm, a hay wagon, and a horse, reflecting Rubens’s fascination with nature’s force and human activity. Originally part of Chambers Hall’s collection, the painting entered the Ashmolean Museum’s holdings and has been catalogued in major databases such as Art UK, where it is described as an oil on canvas landscape painting.
Its provenance and physical dimensions are documented across scholarly and museum sources, underscoring its significance within Rubens’s broader artistic output and the development of the landscape genre in early‑modern European art.
Scholars have highlighted the work’s role in shaping 17th‑century landscape painting, noting its influence on later artists who pursued dramatic naturalism. The Ashmolean’s acquisition records and Art UK’s cataloguing provide consistent details on its medium, size, and provenance, while the painting’s stylistic features continue to be referenced in art‑historical scholarship on Baroque aesthetics.
Overview
Peter Paul Rubens painted Landscape: A Storm in 1620, employing oil on canvas. The work exemplifies the Flemish Baroque’s preference for vigorous, theatrical scenes, and is currently housed in the Ashmolean Museum’s collection.
Artist & collection
Artist
Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ROO-bənz; Dutch:; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat.
