Jan Fabre

All great Antwerp Baroque painters were commissioned to create an altarpiece by the Order of Saint Augustine. In 1628, Peter Paul Rubens painted the canvas for the main altar; Jacob Jordaens and myself decorated the Apollonia and Augustine altars on the right and left sides, respectively those of the Martyrdom of Saint Apollonia and the Ecstasy of Saint Augustine. These three works are now in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts and are still part of the permanent collection.

Today's churches rarely commission contemporary artists. Especially for Rubens Year 2018, this historical tradition of ecclesiastical assignments and renovation has been brought back to life. St. Augustine Church looked for a contemporary painter for a new altarpiece.

The assignment went to the most versatile and probably also the most Rubensian contemporary Antwerp artist: Jan Fabre. The new works will be given a permanent home in the St. Augustine Church.