A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning
A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning, Château de Steen with Hunter or Het Steen is a landscape painting by Rubens, dating to around 1636. It measures 131.2 cm by 229.2 cm and is now in the National Gallery in London.
A rare example of a work painted for the artist's own pleasure rather than for a commission, it shows a view of the Het Steen estate near Brussels, which he had acquired in 1635, set in an early-morning autumn landscape. He had initially intended a much smaller painting focussing on the house, using three small oak planks, probably spares from his studio – as the concept developed, seventeen more panels were added.
It has influenced artists including John Constable, during his period working for Sir George Beaumont, who then owned the painting and later donated it to the National Gallery in 1823.
The painting features the first convincing depiction of a mackerel sky.
