The Defenders of the Eucharist

In this companion piece to The Four Evangelists, Rubens has incorporated figures from early church history into a dramatic spectacle. On the far right side is St. Jerome, dressed in cardinal's robes. Jerome's taking of the sacrament of the Eucharist at his last rites had become a favorite subject in painting among artists by Rubens time. The book Jerome reads is his translation of the Bible into Latin. In front of Jerome in a white monastic habit and four-cornered hat is Norbert, the German bishop-saint. He carries the sacrament of the Eucharist bundled beneath his robes. In the center stands St. Thomas Aquinas in his Dominican habit, holding a book of his writings and pointing heavenward. This gesture mirrors that of St. Matthew in the cartoon of The Four Evangelists and thus reinforces the early Church fathers' role as proclaimers and defenders of the Eucharist doctrines. Next to St. Thomas is St. Clare, dressed in the Franciscan habit of the Poor Clares and holding a great monstrance. The features of St. Clare are those of Rubens' patron, the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia, Governess of the Netherlands. To the left of St. Clare is St. Gregory the Great, shown wearing his papal robes and tiara and holding the papal staff. Gregory authored some of the most important texts of the Church, including most of the Canon and prayers of the Mass. Next to him is the bishop-saint Ambrose. Also an influential shaper of Church doctrine, he is best known for asserting the dogma of Divine Presence in the Eucharist. At far left and recognizable by his black beard, crosier, and miter, is St. Augustine. His writings on the Trinity explained various aspects of the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Bequest of John Ringling, 1936