Copy after "Rubens, Helena Fourment (1614–1673), and Their Son Frans (1633–1678)" 1721

Bernard Lens made this painted copy after Peter Paul Rubens’s original portrait of his wife and child. Copies like this one, from the eighteenth century, speak to the changing role of art within society. While Rubens was a celebrity in his own time, the demand for reproductions of his work grew exponentially in later years. The art market was expanding, but the technology for mass reproduction was not yet available, so artists like Lens made a living creating smaller, hand-painted copies for collectors. This copy also suggests the social importance of portraiture, of the idea of lineage and family, at a time when aristocratic power was under pressure from new social forces. Art historians examine paintings like this one in light of their own institutional and economic contexts. We study the market for art, the development of museums, and the changing status of the artist in society.