An immensely rich show – though it consists of only two paintings: Rubens at the Wallace Collection reviewed

‘When pictures painted as companions are separated,’ John Constable wisely observed, ‘the purchaser of one, without being aware of it, is sometimes buying only half a picture.’ When he said those words at a lecture in Hampstead delivered on 9 June 1833, he had two great paintings by Rubens in mind: ‘A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning’ and ‘The Rainbow Landscape’.

At that date they had already been split up, the first going to the National Gallery, the second eventually to be bought by the Marquis of Hertford. Because of the will of Lady Wallace, the eventual heir of the Marquis, or rather the way it was interpreted, the two have not been reunited since — until, that is, the current, marvellous display at the Wallace Collection.

Admittedly, since it consists of only two paintings, calling this an exhibition might seem to be stretching the definition a bit. But it is immensely rich, each picture overflowing with incident and life, both human and animal. There is higher ground and low, woodland, hedges, waterways, fields, distant towns and villages. The inhabitants include a hunter with his dog, haymakers, carters, horses and cattle plus a variety of birds and waterfowl.

You could look at either painting for hours, but the juxtaposition at the Wallace, the first in public for more than 200 years, makes it undeniable that these two pictures add up to one work. They were intended to be seen together. And the first to own and admire them was Peter Paul Rubens himself.

In 1635, at the age of 58, Rubens (1577-1640) bought a place in the country, a small rustic mansion with a castellated tower known as ‘Het Steen’ or ‘The Stone’ in the countryside south of Mechelen.