Singleton, Esther: Dutch and Flemish furniture (New York: McClure, Phillips & Co, 1907)

CHAPTER V

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY (FLEMISH)
Renewed Italian Influence—Rubens: his Studio, his House, his
Pupils, his Influence, his Successors—Seventeenth Century Wood-
carvers—Developments and Tendencies of Furniture—Crispin
Van Den Passe—Rembrandt's Goods and Chattels—Old Belgian
Houses — The Pitsembourg — Kitchens — Leather-hangings —
Tapestry—Marquetry—Chairs—Masters of Ornamental Design
—The " Auricular Style."
JUST as the seventeenth century was about to dawn,
the Decadence that had affected Italy for nearly
half a century began to make itself felt in the Low
Countries. Those responsible for it were, Michael Angelo
and Borromeo, who abandoned the graceful forms
of the Renaissance for disproportionate and exuberant
decoration. The Flemish architects, artists, and decor-
ative designers willingly subjected themselves to the
Italian influence again as they had done a century before.
Rubens undoubtedly had the greatest influence on
the art taste of Europe during the first three-quarters
of the seventeenth century. Going to Italy in 1600, he
spent, with short breaks, seven years there. He found
that the Italians had already broken away from the sober
lines of the antique, and with an unrestrained curve were
already giving promise of the exaggerations indulged in
later by Borromini, who, in line and form, broke with all
the old traditions. Rubens was affected by the new
131