Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint -striking ignition mechanism , the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also known as the true flintlock , that was introduced in the early 17th century, and gradually replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock , the wheellock , and the earlier flintlock mechanisms such as the snaplock and snaphaunce .
107-457: Seimeni (plural of Seimen ) designates the group of flintlock -armed infantry mercenaries charged with guarding the hospodar (ruler) and his court in 17th and 18th century Wallachia and Moldavia . They were mostly of Serb and other Balkan origin. The term is of Turkish origin: seğmen means "young armed man". In modern transcriptions of Slavonic , it may also appear as simén (plural: siméni ) or siimén ( siiméni ). Menaced by
214-638: A bayonet . On flintlocks, the bayonet played a primarily a deterrence role - casualty lists from several battles in the 18th century showed that fewer than 2% of wounds were caused by bayonets. Antoine-Henri Jomini , a celebrated military author of the Napoleonic period who served in numerous armies during that period, stated that the majority of bayonet charges in the open resulted with one side fleeing before any contacts were made. Flintlock weapons were not used like modern rifles. They tended to be fired in mass volleys, followed by bayonet charges in which
321-461: A firearm incorporating a flintlock mechanism for King Louis XIII shortly after his accession to the throne in 1610. However, firearms using some form of flint ignition mechanism had already been in use for over half a century. The first proto-flintlock was the snaplock, which was probably invented shortly before 1517 and was inarguably in use by 1547. Their cost and delicacy limited their use; for example around 1662, only one in six firearms used by
428-720: A Fur Wrap , also known as Het Pelsken , Rubens's wife is even partially modelled after classical sculptures of the Venus Pudica , such as the Medici Venus . In 1635, Rubens bought an estate outside Antwerp, the Steen , where he spent much of his time. Landscapes, such as his A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning (National Gallery, London) and Farmers Returning from the Fields (Pitti Gallery, Florence), reflect
535-515: A barrel that was unscrewed from the rest of the gun. This is more practical on pistols because of the shorter barrel length. This type is known as a Queen Anne pistol because it was during her reign that it became popular (although it was actually introduced in the reign of King William III ). Another type has a removable screw plug set into the side or top or bottom of the barrel. A large number of sporting rifles were made with this system, as it allowed easier loading compared with muzzle loading with
642-479: A battle on the Teleajen River . Flintlock The true flintlock continued to be in common use for over two centuries, replaced by percussion cap and, later, the cartridge-based systems in the early-to-mid 19th century. Although long superseded by modern firearms, flintlock weapons enjoy continuing popularity with black-powder shooting enthusiasts. French court gunsmith Marin le Bourgeoys made
749-573: A court painter Rubens was not required to register his pupils with the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke . About 20 pupils or assistants of Rubens have been identified, with various levels of evidence to include them as such. It is also not clear from surviving records whether a particular person was a pupil or assistant in Rubens's workshop or was an artist who was an independent master collaborating on specific works with Rubens. The unknown Jacob Moerman
856-442: A cousin of his mother. This family connection possibly explains the choice for Verhaecht as his first master. Rubens left Verhaecht's workshop after about one year as he wished to study history painting rather than landscape painting. He then continued his studies with one of the city's leading painters of the time, the artist Adam van Noort . Van Noort was a so-called Romanist , a term used to denote artists who had travelled from
963-543: A diplomatic mission in 1603, delivering gifts from the Gonzagas to the court of Philip III . While there, he studied the extensive collections of Raphael and Titian that had been collected by Philip II . He also painted an equestrian portrait of the Duke of Lerma during his stay (Prado, Madrid) that demonstrates the influence of works like Titian's Charles V at Mühlberg (1548; Prado, Madrid). This journey marked
1070-417: A flintlock was fired it sprayed a shower of sparks forwards from the muzzle and another sideways out of the flash-hole. One reason for firing in volleys was to ensure that one man's sparks didn't ignite the next man's powder as he was in the act of loading. An accidental frizzen strike could also ignite the main powder charge, even if the pan had not yet been primed. Some modern flintlock users will still place
1177-436: A great deal of physical, sometimes aggressive, action. The concepts Rubens artistically represents illustrate the male as powerful, capable, forceful and compelling. The allegorical and symbolic subjects he painted reference the classic masculine tropes of athleticism, high achievement, valour in war, and civil authority. Male archetypes readily found in Rubens's paintings include the hero, husband, father, civic leader, king, and
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#17327872164441284-461: A leather cover over the frizzen while loading as a safety measure to prevent this from happening. However, this does slow down the loading time, which prevented safety practices such as this from being used on the battlefields of the past. The black powder used in flintlocks would quickly foul the barrel, which was a problem for rifles and for smooth bore weapons that fired a tighter fitting round for greater accuracy. Each shot would add more fouling to
1391-653: A lighted cord ("match") would have been a dangerous fire hazard. Such men armed with these flintlocks were called "fusiliers" as flintlocks were then called "fusils" from the French word for such. Various types were in use by elite infantry, scouts, artillery guards (as noted), and private individuals in European armies throughout most of the 16th and 17th centuries, though matchlocks continued to overwhelmingly outnumber them. The early Dutch States Army used flintlocks on an unusually large scale, issuing snaphances to its infantry in
1498-399: A lubricated cleaning patch down the barrel with the ramrod would also extinguish any embers, and would clean out some of the barrel fouling as well. Soldiers on the battlefield could not take these precautions. They had to fire as quickly as possible, often firing three to four rounds per minute. Loading and firing at such a pace dramatically increased the risk of an accidental discharge. When
1605-467: A military arm. Their effective range was short, and they were frequently used as an adjunct to a sword or cutlass . Pistols were usually smoothbore although some rifled pistols were produced. Flintlock pistols came in a variety of sizes and styles which often overlap and are not well defined, many of the names we use having been applied by collectors and dealers long after the pistols were obsolete. The smallest were less than 6 inches (15 cm) long and
1712-579: A military context, skirmishing and by specialist marksmen. In the United States, the small game hunting long rifle ("Pennsylvania rifle" or "Kentucky rifle") was developed in southeastern Pennsylvania in the early 1700s. Based on the Jäger rifle, but with a much longer barrel, these were exceptionally accurate for their time, and had an effective range of approximately 250 m (820 ft). They tended to fire smaller caliber rounds, with calibers in
1819-582: A network of friendships with important figures of his time such as the scientist Galileo Galilei whom he included as the central figure in his friendship portrait he painted in Mantua known as the Self-Portrait in a Circle of Friends from Mantua . Rubens continued to correspond with many of his friends and contacts in Italian, signed his name as "Pietro Paolo Rubens", and spoke longingly of returning to
1926-477: A number of engravers trained by Christoffel Jegher , whom he carefully schooled in the more vigorous style he wanted. Rubens also designed the last significant woodcuts before the 19th-century revival in the technique. In 1621, the Queen Mother of France, Marie de' Medici , commissioned Rubens to paint two large allegorical cycles celebrating her life and the life of her late husband, Henry IV , for
2033-834: A period of renewed prosperity in the city with the signing of the Treaty of Antwerp in April 1609, which initiated the Twelve Years' Truce . In September 1609 Rubens was appointed as court painter by Albert VII, Archduke of Austria , and Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain , sovereigns of the Habsburg Netherlands . He received special permission to base his studio in Antwerp instead of at their court in Brussels , and to also work for other clients. He remained close to
2140-479: A pregnancy in 1571. Rubens was imprisoned in Dillenburg Castle and under threat of execution for his transgression. The illegitimate daughter, Christina of Dietz, was born on 22 August 1571. Thanks to the repeated pleas of his wife and by paying a bail bond of 6,000 thalers , Jan Rubens was permitted to leave prison after two years. The conditions of his release were a ban on practising as a lawyer and
2247-495: A prime example of Baroque religious art. Rubens used the production of prints and book title-pages, especially for his friend Balthasar Moretus , the owner of the large Plantin-Moretus publishing house , to extend his fame throughout Europe during this part of his career. In 1618, Rubens embarked upon a printmaking enterprise by soliciting an unusual triple privilege (an early form of copyright ) to protect his designs in France,
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#17327872164442354-536: A private teacher, Peter Paul first took up a position as a page to the countess Marguerite de Ligne-Arenberg, whose father-in-law had been the governor general of the Spanish Netherlands. The countess was the widow of Count Philippe de Lalaing and probably lived in Oudenaarde. Even though intellectually and temperamentally suited for a career as a courtier, Rubens had from a young age been attracted by
2461-597: A removable copper cover, also painted by the artist. His brother Philip was also at the time of his second residence in Rome as a scholar. The brothers lived together on Via della Croce near Piazza di Spagna. They had thus the opportunity to share their common interest in Classical art. Rubens's experiences in Italy continued to influence his work even after his return to Flanders. His stay in Italy had also allowed him to build
2568-559: A renewed study of Titian's paintings, copying numerous works including the Madrid Fall of Man (1628–29). During this stay, he befriended the court painter Diego Velázquez and the two planned to travel to Italy together the following year. Rubens, however, returned to Antwerp following the death of his mother and Velázquez made the journey without him. His stay in Antwerp was brief, and he soon travelled on to London where he remained until April 1630. An important work from this period
2675-414: A tight-fitting bullet and patch. One of the more successful was the system built by Isaac de la Chaumette starting in 1704. The barrel could be opened by three revolutions of the triggerguard, to which it was attached. The plug stayed attached to the barrel and the ball and powder were loaded from the top. This system was improved in the 1770s by Colonel Patrick Ferguson and 100 experimental rifles used in
2782-449: A traditional motif in European art for centuries. Rubens was quite fond of painting full-figured women, giving rise to terms like 'Rubensian' or 'Rubenesque' (sometimes 'Rubensesque'). His large-scale cycle representing Marie de' Medici focuses on several classic female archetypes like the virgin, consort, wife, widow, and diplomatic regent. The inclusion of this iconography in his female portraits, along with his art depicting noblewomen of
2889-939: A wooden case with compartments for each piece. Flintlock muskets were the mainstay of European armies between 1660 and 1840. A musket was a muzzle-loading smoothbore long gun that was loaded with a round lead ball, but it could also be loaded with shot for hunting . For military purposes, the weapon was loaded with ball, or a mixture of ball with several large shot (called buck and ball ), and had an effective range of about 75–100 m (246–328 ft). Smoothbore weapons that were designed for hunting birds were called "fowlers." Flintlock muskets tended to be of large caliber and usually had no choke , allowing them to fire full-caliber balls. Military flintlock muskets tended to weigh approximately 10 pounds (4.53 kg), as heavier weapons were found to be too cumbersome, and lighter weapons were not rugged or heavy enough to be used in hand-to-hand combat. They were usually designed to be fitted with
2996-573: Is now in a "primed and loaded" state, and this is how it would typically be carried while hunting or if going into battle. To fire: The British Army and the Continental Army both used paper cartridges to load their weapons. The powder charge and ball were instantly available to the soldier inside this small paper envelope. To load a flintlock weapon using a paper cartridge, a soldier would The weapon can then be fully cocked and fired. Firearms using some form of flintlock mechanism were
3103-541: Is the Allegory of Peace and War (1629; National Gallery , London). It illustrates the artist's lively concern for peace, and was given to Charles I as a gift. While Rubens's international reputation with collectors and nobility abroad continued to grow during this decade, he and his workshop also continued to paint monumental paintings for local patrons in Antwerp. The Assumption of the Virgin Mary (1625–26) for
3210-657: The American Revolutionary War . The only two flintlock breech loaders to be produced in quantity were the Hall and the Crespi. The first was invented by John Hall and patented c. 1817. It was issued to the U.S. Army as the Model 1819 Hall Breech Loading Rifle . The Hall rifles and carbines were loaded using a combustible paper cartridge inserted into the upward tilting breechblock. Hall rifles leaked gas from
3317-793: The Battle of the Amazons (Bildergalerie, Potsdam-Sanssouci) show the influence of his master van Veen. This style was characterised by a pronounced Italianate mannerism constrained by the Antwerp workshop tradition and the Italian art theory of the Renaissance. In 1600 Rubens travelled to Italy with his first pupil Deodat del Monte. They stopped first in Venice , where he saw paintings by Titian , Veronese , and Tintoretto . The colouring and compositions of Veronese and Tintoretto had an immediate effect on Rubens' painting, and his later, mature style
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3424-680: The Chiesa Nuova . The subject was St. Gregory the Great and important local saints adoring an icon of the Virgin and Child. The first version, a single canvas (now at the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Grenoble), was immediately replaced by a second version on three slate panels that permits the actual miraculous holy image of the "Santa Maria in Vallicella" to be revealed on important feast days by
3531-513: The Guild of St. Luke as an independent master. As an independent master, he was allowed to take commissions and train apprentices. His first pupil was Deodat del Monte who would later accompany him on his trip to Italy. He seems to have remained an assistant in van Veen's after becoming and independent master. His works from this period, such as the Adam and Eve ( Rubenshuis , Antwerp, c. 1599) and
3638-537: The Low Countries to Rome to study the work of leading Italian artists of the period such as Michelangelo , Da Vinci, Raphael and Titian and had created upon their return home artworks that reflected their engagement with these Italian innovations. Rubens' apprenticeship with van Noort lasted about four years during which he improved his handling of figures and faces. He subsequently studied with another Romanist painter, Otto van Veen . Van Veen offered Rubens
3745-838: The Luxembourg Palace in Paris. The Marie de' Medici cycle (now in the Louvre) was installed in 1625, and although he began work on the second series it was never completed. Marie was exiled from France in 1630 by her son, Louis XIII , and died in 1642 in the same house in Cologne where Rubens had lived as a child. After the end of the Twelve Years' Truce in 1621, the Spanish Habsburg rulers entrusted Rubens with diplomatic missions. While in Paris in 1622 to discuss
3852-689: The Protestant Reformation . The ruler of the Low Countries - the Catholic Spanish king Philip II - reacted to the unrest by ordering the severe repression of the followers of the Reformation. In 1568, the Rubens family, with two boys and two girls (Jan Baptist (1562–1600), Blandina (1564–1606), Clara (1565–1580) and Hendrik (1567–1583)), fled to Cologne. As Calvinists, they feared persecution in their homeland during
3959-895: The Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium ) and moved to Antwerp at about 12. In addition to running a large workshop in Antwerp that produced paintings popular with nobility and art collectors throughout Europe, Rubens was a classically educated humanist scholar and diplomat who was knighted by both Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England . Rubens was a prolific artist. The catalogue of his works by Michael Jaffé lists 1,403 pieces, excluding numerous copies made in his workshop. His commissioned works were mostly history paintings , which included religious and mythological subjects, and hunt scenes. He painted portraits, especially of friends, and self-portraits, and in later life painted several landscapes. Rubens designed tapestries and prints, as well as his own house. He also oversaw
4066-671: The ephemeral decorations of the royal entry into Antwerp by the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria in 1635. He wrote a book with illustrations of the palaces in Genoa , which was published in 1622 as Palazzi di Genova . The book was influential in spreading the Genoese palace style in Northern Europe. Rubens was an avid art collector and had one of the largest collections of art and books in Antwerp. He
4173-403: The flintlock or true flintlock. Flintlock firearms differed from the then more common and cheaper to manufacture matchlock arms in that they were fired by the spark of the flint against the powder charge rather than by the direct application of a lighted length of cord or (as it was then called) "match". This was particularly important with men armed with muskets guarding artillery trains where
4280-486: The pepperbox revolver would sometimes fire all barrels simultaneously, or would sometimes just explode in the user's hand. It was often cheaper, safer, and more reliable to carry several single-shot weapons instead. Some repeater rifles, multishot single barrel pistols, and multishot single barrel revolvers were also made. Notable are the Puckle gun , Mortimer , Kalthoff, Michele Lorenzoni, Abraham Hill , Cookson pistols,
4387-502: The 16-year-old Helena Fourment . Hélène inspired the voluptuous figures in many of his paintings from the 1630s, including The Feast of Venus (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), The Three Graces and The Judgement of Paris (both Prado, Madrid). In the latter painting, which was made for the Spanish court, the artist's young wife was recognised by viewers in the figure of Venus . In an intimate portrait of her, Helena Fourment in
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4494-491: The 1620s and true flintlocks by 1640. While it is known that the Dutch were the first power to adopt the flintlock as the standard infantry weapon, the exact chronology of the transition is uncertain. The new flintlock system quickly became popular and was known and used in various forms throughout Europe by 1630, although older flintlock systems continued to be used for some time. Examples of early flintlock muskets can be seen in
4601-627: The Archduchess Isabella until her death in 1633, and was called upon as a painter and also as an ambassador and diplomat. Rubens further cemented his ties to the city when, on 3 October 1609, he married Isabella Brant , the daughter of a leading Antwerp citizen and humanist, Jan Brant. In 1610, Rubens moved into a new house and studio that he designed. Now the Rubenshuis Museum, the Italian-influenced villa in
4708-479: The Baroque tradition of depicting women as soft-bodied, passive, and to the modern eye highly sexualised beings, his nudes emphasise the concepts of fertility, desire, physical beauty, temptation, and virtue. Skilfully rendered, these paintings of nude women are thought by feminists to have been created to sexually appeal to his largely male audience of patrons, although the female nude as an example of beauty has been
4815-553: The Bondikula known for its unique bifurcated butt and heavy ornamentation. These were widely used during the 17th-18th centuries. In China, some flintlocks had been acquired and illustrated by 1635, but they were not adopted by the army. An 1836 British report about the Qing dynasty's military strength noted that all Chinese firearms were "ill-made" matchlocks, with no flintlocks or any of the other "tribes of firearm." Southeast Asia
4922-515: The British royal army was a snaphaunce, the rest being matchlocks. The development of firearm lock mechanisms had proceeded from the matchlock to wheellock to the earlier flintlocks ( snaplock , snaphance , miquelet , and doglock ) in the previous two centuries, and each type had been an improvement, contributing design features to later firearms which were useful. Le Bourgeoys fitted these various features together to create what became known as
5029-545: The Cathedral of Antwerp is one prominent example. Rubens's last decade was spent in and around Antwerp. Major works for foreign patrons still occupied him, such as the ceiling paintings for the Banqueting House at Inigo Jones 's Palace of Whitehall , but he also explored more personal artistic directions. In 1630, four years after the death of his first wife Isabella, the 53-year-old painter married her niece,
5136-635: The Catholic Spanish Netherlands and the Protestant Dutch Republic . He also made several trips to the Dutch Republic as both an artist and a diplomat. Some members of the courts he visited did not treat him as an equal as they held that courtiers should not use their hands in any art or trade, but he was also received as an equal gentleman by many others. Rubens was raised by Philip IV of Spain to
5243-415: The Italian masters. The Hellenistic sculpture Laocoön and His Sons was especially influential on him, as was the art of Michelangelo , Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci . Rubens came in Rome also under the spell of the recent, highly naturalistic paintings by Caravaggio . He later made a copy of Caravaggio's Entombment of Christ and recommended his patron, the Duke of Mantua, to buy The Death of
5350-520: The Jennings repeater and the Elisha Collier revolver . Flintlocks were prone to many problems compared to modern weapons. Misfires were common. The flint had to be properly maintained, as a dull or poorly knapped piece of flint would not make as much of a spark and would increase the misfire rate dramatically. Moisture was a problem, since moisture on the frizzen or damp powder would prevent
5457-485: The Latin school of Rombout Verdonck in Antwerp, where they studied Latin and classical literature. Philip later became a prominent antiquarian , librarian and philologist but died young. In 1590, the brothers had to interrupt their schooling and go to work, in order to contribute financially to their sister Blandina's dowry. While his brother Philip would continue with his humanistic and scholarly education while working as
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#17327872164445564-479: The Marie de' Medici cycle, Rubens engaged in clandestine information gathering activities, which at the time was an important task of diplomats. He relied on his friendship with Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc to get information on political developments in France. Between 1627 and 1630, Rubens was very active as a diplomat. He travelled between the courts of Spain and England in an attempt to bring about peace between
5671-772: The Southeast Asian states generally lacked the ability to natively produce the flintlock. The Jiaozhi arquebus was still the main firearm of Nguyễn dynasty musketeers at the end of the 18th century. The Burmese only obtained a majority of flintlocks in their armed forces by the 1860s (the Burmese kings demanded to be paid in surplus European muskets instead of currency), at which point the European powers had already moved on to percussion cap firearms. Flintlocks may be any type of small arm : long gun or pistol , smoothbore or rifle , muzzleloader or breechloader . Flintlock pistols were used as self-defense weapons and as
5778-631: The Southern Netherlands at the time sided with the Reformation and Jan Rubens also converted to Calvinism . In 1566 the Low Countries were the victim of the iconoclasic fury, referred to in Dutch as the Beeldenstorm ( pronounced [ˈbeːldə(n)ˌstɔr(ə)m] ) during which Catholic art and many forms of church fittings and decoration were destroyed in unofficial or mob actions by Calvinist Protestant crowds as part of
5885-494: The Southern Netherlands, and United Provinces. He enlisted Lucas Vorsterman to engrave a number of his notable religious and mythological paintings, to which Rubens appended personal and professional dedications to noteworthy individuals in the Southern Netherlands, United Provinces, England , France , and Spain . With the exception of a few etchings , Rubens left the printmaking to specialists, who included Lucas Vorsterman, Paulus Pontius and Willem Panneels . He recruited
5992-741: The Virgin ( Louvre ). He remained a strong supporter of Caravaggio's art as shown by his important role in the acquisition of The Madonna of the Rosary ( Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna ) for the St. Paul's Church in Antwerp after he had returned home. During this first stay in Rome, Rubens completed his first altarpiece commission, St. Helena with the True Cross for the Roman church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme . Rubens travelled to Spain on
6099-523: The Younger , Pieter Soutman , David Teniers the Elder , Frans Wouters , Jan Thomas van Ieperen , Theodoor van Thulden and Victor Wolfvoet (II) . He also often sub-contracted elements such as animals, landscapes or still-lifes in large compositions to specialists such as animal painters Frans Snyders and Paul de Vos , or other artists such as Jacob Jordaens . One of his most frequent collaborators
6206-526: The advent of the Minié ball – by which time the percussion cap had made the flintlock obsolete. Because of the time needed to reload (even experts needed 15 seconds to reload a smooth-bore, muzzle-loading musket ), flintlocks were sometimes produced with two, three, four or more barrels for multiple shots. These designs tended to be costly to make and were often unreliable and dangerous. While weapons like double barreled shotguns were reasonably safe, weapons like
6313-506: The barrel, making the weapon more and more difficult to load. Even if the barrel was badly fouled, the flintlock user still had to properly seat the round all the way to the breech of the barrel. Leaving an air gap in between the powder and the round (known as "short starting") was very dangerous, and could cause the barrel to explode. Handling loose black powder was also dangerous, for obvious reasons. Powder measures, funnels, and other pieces of equipment were usually made out of brass to reduce
6420-409: The battle weary. Paintings from Rubens's workshop can be divided into three categories: those he painted by himself, those he painted in part (mainly hands and faces), and copies supervised from his drawings or oil sketches . He had, as was usual at the time, a large workshop with many apprentices and students. It has not always been possible to identify who were Rubens's pupils and assistants since as
6527-400: The calculus of infantry combat; by one calculation, a formation equipped entirely with flintlocks (with paper cartridges) could output ten times as many shots in an equivalent period of time as a typical early 17th-century pike and shot formation equipped with matchlocks (pike:shot ratio of 3:2). Various breech-loading flintlocks were developed starting around 1650. The most popular action has
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#17327872164446634-446: The centre of Antwerp accommodated his workshop, where he and his apprentices made most of the paintings, and his personal art collection and library, both among the most extensive in Antwerp. During this time he built up a studio with numerous students and assistants. His most famous pupil was the young Anthony van Dyck , who soon became the leading Flemish portraitist and collaborated frequently with Rubens. He also often collaborated with
6741-472: The coat pocket pistol, or coat pistol, which would fit into a large pocket, the coach pistol, meant to be carried on or under the seat of a coach in a bag or box, and belt pistols, sometimes equipped with a hook designed to slip over a belt or waistband. Larger pistols were called horse pistols. Arguably the most elegant of the pistol designs was the Queen Anne pistol , which was made in all sizes. Arguably
6848-445: The coming centuries about 80 descendants from the Rubens family were interred in the chapel. At the request of canon van Parijs, Rubens's epitaph, written in Latin by his friend Gaspar Gevartius , was chiselled on the chapel floor. In the tradition of the Renaissance, Rubens is compared in the epitaph to Apelles , the most famous painter of Greek Antiquity. His biblical and mythological nudes are especially well-known. Painted in
6955-575: The day, serve to elevate his female portrait sitters to the status and importance of his male portrait sitters. Rubens's depiction of males is equally stylised, replete with meaning, and quite the opposite of his female subjects. His male nudes represent highly athletic and large mythical or biblical men. Unlike his female nudes, most of his male nudes are depicted partially nude, with sashes, armour, or shadows shielding them from being completely unclothed. These men are twisting, reaching, bending, and grasping: all of which portrays his male subjects engaged in
7062-399: The figures of the Virgin and saints. In the upper niche of the retable is a marble statue depicting the Virgin as the Mater Dolorosa whose heart is pierced by a sword, which was likely sculpted by Lucas Faydherbe , a pupil of Rubens. The remains of Rubens's second wife Helena Fourment and two of her children (one of whom was fathered by Rubens) were later also laid to rest in the chapel. Over
7169-510: The first of many during his career that combined art and diplomacy. He returned to Italy in 1604, where he remained for the next four years, first in Mantua and then in Genoa . In Genoa, Rubens painted numerous portraits, such as the Marchesa Brigida Spinola-Doria (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.), and the portrait of Maria di Antonio Serra Pallavicini, in a style that influenced later paintings by Anthony van Dyck , Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough . He made drawings of
7276-487: The flintlock did not proliferate globally. Flintlocks were far more complicated to manufacture than simple matchlocks, thus less-developed countries continued to use the latter into the mid 19th century, long after Europe had made the switch in the late 17th. In the Indian subcontinent , the natively-manufactured toradar matchlock was the most common firearm type until about 1830. The Sinhalese Kingdoms locally produced flintlock mechanisms for long-barreled muskets known as
7383-471: The growing privileges of boyars and threatened to lose land grants or be turned into serfs , the Wallachian seimeni rebelled in 1655, being crushed after Prince Constantin Şerban enlisted the help of George II Rákóczi , Prince of Transylvania , as well as that of Moldavia's Voivode Gheorghe Ştefan . After exercising a rule of terror in Bucharest , capturing and executing several boyars , they were decisively defeated by Rákóczi on June 26, 1655, in
7490-477: The harsh rule of the Duke of Alba , who as the Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands was responsible for implementing the harsh repression. Jan Rubens became in 1570 the legal adviser of Anna of Saxony , the second wife of William I of Orange who at the time lived in Cologne. She later moved to Siegen about 90 kilometres from Cologne. Jan Rubens would visit her there while his family remained in Cologne. He had an affair with Anna of Saxony, which resulted in
7597-480: The high point of the mechanical development of the flintlock pistol was the British duelling pistol ; it was highly reliable, water resistant and accurate. External decoration was minimal but craftsmanship was evident, and the internal works were often finished to a higher degree of craftsmanship than the exterior. Dueling pistols were the size of the horse pistols of the late 1700s, around 16 inches (41 cm) long and were usually sold in pairs along with accessories in
7704-481: The ideal of the 'pictor doctus' (learned painter), who understands that painting requires not only practice, but also on knowledge of art theory Classical art and literature and the masters of the Italian Renaissance. He also introduced Rubens to the 'code of conduct' which court painters needed to respect to become successful. Rubens completed his apprenticeship with van Veen in 1598, the year he entered
7811-689: The inside of the gun barrel and the lock mechanism. Flintlock weapons that were not properly cleaned and maintained would corrode to the point of being destroyed. Most flintlocks were produced at a time before modern manufacturing processes became common. Even in mass-produced weapons, parts were often handmade. If a flintlock became damaged, or parts wore out due to age, the damaged parts were not easily replaced. Parts would often have to be filed down, hammered into shape, or otherwise modified so that they would fit, making repairs much more difficult. Machine-made, interchangeable parts began to be used only shortly before flintlocks were replaced by caplocks. The gun
7918-418: The intellectual and artistic stimulation that suited his temperament. Van Veen had spent five years in Italy and was an accomplished portraitist and had a broad Humanist education. He knew Spanish royalty and had received portrait commissions as a court painter to Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, the sovereigns of the Habsburg Netherlands . Van Veen instilled in Rubens
8025-428: The largest were over 20 inches (51 cm). From around the beginning of the 1700s the larger pistols got shorter, so that by the late 1700s the largest would be around 16 inches (41 cm) long. The smallest would fit into a typical pocket or a hand warming muff and could easily be carried by women. The largest sizes would be carried in holsters across a horse's back just ahead of the saddle. In-between sizes included
8132-485: The loading process. A soldier did not have to take the time to measure out powder when using a paper cartridge. He simply tore open the cartridge, used a small amount of powder to prime the pan, then dumped the remaining powder from the cartridge into the barrel. The black powder used in flintlocks contained sulfur . If the weapon was not cleaned after use, sulfur dioxide in the powder residue would absorb moisture, producing sulfuric and sulfonic acids which would erode
8239-500: The main cities of Italy to further his studies. He was awarded the degree of doctor of ecclesiastical and civil law by the Sapienza University in Rome. Upon his return to Antwerp he became a lawyer and held the office of alderman in Antwerp from 1562 to 1568. Jan Rubens married Maria Pypelinckx, who came from a prominent family originally from Kuringen , near Hasselt . A large portion of the nobility and bourgeoisie in
8346-456: The main form of firearm for over 200 years. It was not until Reverend Alexander John Forsyth invented a rudimentary percussion cap system in 1807 that the flintlock system began to decline in popularity. The percussion ignition system was more weatherproof and reliable than the flintlock, but the transition from flintlock to percussion cap was a slow one, and the percussion system was not widely used until around 1830. The Model 1840 U.S. musket
8453-520: The many new palaces that were going up in Genoa. These were later engraved and published in 1622 as Palazzi di Genova . From 1606 to 1608, he was mostly in Rome when he received, with the assistance of Cardinal Jacopo Serra (the brother of Maria Pallavicini), his most important commission to date for the High Altar of the city's most fashionable new church, Santa Maria in Vallicella also known as
8560-401: The many specialists active in the city, including the animal painter Frans Snyders , who contributed the eagle to Prometheus Bound ( c. 1611–12 , completed by 1618), and his good friend the flower-painter Jan Brueghel the Elder . Rubens built another house to the north of Antwerp in the polder village of Doel , "Hooghuis" (1613/1643), perhaps as an investment. The "High House"
8667-538: The more personal nature of many of his later works. He also drew upon the Netherlandish traditions of Pieter Bruegel the Elder for inspiration in later works like Feasting and dancing peasants (c. 1630; Louvre, Paris). Rubens died from heart failure as a result of his chronic gout on 30 May 1640. He was interred in the Saint James' Church in Antwerp. A burial chapel for the artist and his family
8774-466: The nobility in 1624 and knighted by Charles I of England in 1630. Philip IV confirmed Rubens's status as a knight a few months later. Rubens was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from Cambridge University in 1629. Rubens was in Madrid for eight months in 1628–1629. In addition to diplomatic negotiations, he executed several important works for Philip IV and private patrons. He also began
8881-454: The obligation to take up residence in Siegen where his movements would be supervised. This put the rest of the family, who had joined Jan in Siegen, in financial difficulty. During this period two sons were born: Philip in 1574, followed in 1577 by Peter Paul who, although likely born in Siegen, was reportedly baptised in Cologne. Anna of Saxony died in 1577. The travel ban imposed on Jan Rubens
8988-1169: The often poorly fitted action. The same problem affected the muskets produced by Giuseppe Crespi and adopted by the Austrian Army in 1771. Nonetheless, the Crespi System was experimented with by the British during the Napoleonic Wars , and percussion Halls guns saw service in the American Civil War . Flintlock weapons were commonly used until the mid 19th century, when they were replaced by percussion lock systems. Even though they have long been considered obsolete, flintlock weapons continue to be produced today by manufacturers such as Pedersoli, Euroarms, and Armi Sport. Not only are these weapons used by modern re-enactors, but they are also used for hunting, as many U.S. states have dedicated hunting seasons for black-powder weapons, which includes both flintlock and percussion lock weapons. Even after it became dominant in Europe,
9095-554: The painting "Marie de' Medici as Bellona" by Rubens (painted around 1622–1625). These flintlocks were in use alongside older firearms such as matchlocks, wheellocks, and miquelet locks for nearly a hundred years. The last major European power to standardize the flintlock was the Holy Roman Empire , when in 1702 the Emperor instituted a new regulation that all matchlocks were to be converted or scrapped. The "true" flintlock
9202-471: The pan " remain current in English. In addition, the weapon positions and drill commands that were originally devised to standardize carrying, loading and firing a flintlock weapon remain the standard for drill and display (see manual of arms ). Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( / ˈ r uː b ən z / ROO -bənz ; Dutch: [ˈpeːtər pʌul ˈrybəns] ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640)
9309-553: The peninsula—a wish that never materialised. Rubens was a polyglot who corresponded not only in Italian and Dutch, but also in French, Spanish and Latin. His mother tongue and most commonly used idiom remained, however, the dialect of Brabant. This is demonstrated in that he wrote his most spontaneous letters in that dialect and also used it for the notes on his drawings and designs. Upon hearing of his mother's illness in 1608, Rubens planned his departure from Italy for Antwerp, but she died before he arrived home. His return coincided with
9416-485: The range of .32–.45 in (8.1–11.4 mm) being the most common - hence being sometimes referred to as a "pea rifle." The Jezail was a military long flintlock rifle, developed near and popular throughout Afghanistan , India , Central Asia and parts of the Middle East . However, while European military tactics remained based on loosely-aimed mass volleys, most of their flintlocks were still smoothbore - as
9523-462: The risk of creating a spark, which could ignite the powder. Soldiers often used pre-made paper cartridges , which unlike modern cartridges were not inserted whole into the weapon. Instead, they were tubes of paper that contained a pre-measured amount of powder and a lead ball. Although paper cartridges were safer to handle than loose powder, their primary purpose was not safety related at all. Instead, paper cartridges were used mainly because they sped up
9630-546: The spiral grooves of rifling made rifles take more time to load, and after repeated shots black powder tended to foul the barrels. Rifled flintlocks saw most military use by sharpshooters, skirmishers, and other support units. While by the late 18th century there were increasing efforts to take advantage of the rifle for military purposes, with specialist rifle units such as the King's Royal Rifle Corps of 1756 and Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) , smoothbores predominated until
9737-468: The weapon from firing. This rendered flintlock weapons unusable in rainy or damp weather. Some armies attempted to remedy this by using a leather cover over the lock mechanism, but this proved to have only limited success. Accidental firing was also a problem for flintlocks. A burning ember left in the barrel could ignite the next powder charge as it was loaded. This could be avoided by waiting between shots for any leftover residue to completely burn. Running
9844-453: The weapons were used much like the pikes that they replaced. Because they were also used as pikes, military flintlocks tended to be approximately 5–6 feet (150–180 cm) in length (without the bayonet attached), and used bayonets that were approximately 18–22 inches (46–56 cm) in length. In Germany, the Jäger rifle was developed by the late 18th century. It was used for hunting, and in
9951-445: The woodblock prints of Hans Holbein the Younger and Tobias Stimmer , which he had diligently copied, along with Marcantonio Raimondi 's engravings after Raphael . Acting on his ambition to pursue a career as an artist, he began an apprenticeship with the landscape painter Tobias Verhaecht in 1592. Verhaecht was married to Suzanna van Mockenborch, who was a granddaughter of Peter Paul Rubens' stepfather Jan de Landmetere and also
10058-542: Was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of classical and Christian history. His unique and immensely popular Baroque style emphasised movement, colour, and sensuality, which followed the immediate, dramatic artistic style promoted in the Counter-Reformation . Rubens
10165-513: Was a painter producing altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. He was also a prolific designer of cartoons for the Flemish tapestry workshops and of frontispieces for the publishers in Antwerp. He was born and raised in the Holy Roman Empire (modern-day Germany ), to parents who were refugees from Antwerp in the Duchy of Brabant in
10272-424: Was also an art dealer and is known to have sold important art objects to George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham . He was one of the last major artists to make consistent use of wooden panels as a support medium, even for very large works, but used canvas as well, especially when the work needed to be sent a long distance. For altarpieces , he sometimes painted on slate to reduce reflection problems. Rubens
10379-652: Was born in Siegen , Nassau to Jan Rubens and Maria Pypelincks . His father's family were long-time residents of Antwerp tracing their lineage there back to 1350. Records show that a certain Arnold Rubens bought 'a house with court' in the Gasthuisstraat in Antwerp in 1396. The Rubens family belonged to the well-to-do bourgeois class and its members were known to operate grocery shops and pharmacies. Jan Rubens decided to study law and lived from 1556 to 1562 in
10486-551: Was built in the church. Construction on the chapel started in 1642 and was completed in 1650 when Cornelis van Mildert (the son of Rubens's friend, the sculptor Johannes van Mildert ) delivered the altarstone. The chapel is a marble altar portico with two columns framing the altarpiece of the Virgin and child with saints painted by Rubens himself. The painting expresses the basic tenets of the Counter Reformation through
10593-758: Was built next to the village church. Altarpieces such as The Raising of the Cross (1610) and The Descent from the Cross (1611–1614) for the Cathedral of Our Lady were particularly important in establishing Rubens as Flanders' leading painter shortly after his return. The Raising of the Cross , for example, demonstrates the artist's synthesis of Tintoretto's Crucifixion for the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice, Michelangelo 's dynamic figures, and Rubens's own personal style. This painting has been held as
10700-547: Was buried in Cologne's St Peter's Church , a Catholic church. The widow Maria Pypelinckx returned with the rest of the family (i.e. Blandina, Philip and Peter Paul) to Antwerp in 1590, where they moved into a house on the Kloosterstraat. Until his death in 1587, father Jan had been intensively involved in his sons' education. Peter Paul and his older brother Philip received a humanist education in Cologne which they continued after their move to Antwerp. They studied at
10807-465: Was in a similar position to China and India. The Vietnamese were introduced to flintlocks by the Dutch in the 1680s, and bought some from European merchants. Flintlocks began to appear in Javanese arsenals in the first decade of the eighteenth century and the Dutch began to supply flintlocks to the rulers of Surabaya in the 1710s and 1720s. But matchlocks remained prominent until the mid-19th century, and
10914-405: Was less expensive to manufacture than earlier flintlocks, which along with general economic development allowed every European soldier to have one by the 18th century. Compared to the earlier matchlock, flintlocks could be reloaded roughly twice as fast, misfired far less often, and were easier to use in various environments due to the fact that they did not require a lit match. This instantly changed
11021-659: Was lifted in 1578 on condition that he not settle in the Prince of Orange's possessions nor in the hereditary dominions of the Low Countries and maintain the bail bond of 6,000 thalers as security. He was allowed to leave his place of exile in Siegen and to move the Rubens family to Cologne. While in Siegen, the family had of necessity belonged to the Lutheran Church in Cologne; the family now reconverted to Catholicism. The eldest son, Jan Baptist, who may also have been an artist, left for Italy in 1586. Jan Rubens died in 1587 and
11128-470: Was profoundly influenced by Titian. His visit to Venice coincided with that of Duke Vincenzo I Gonzaga of Mantua . It is possible that he was hired by the Duke during his stay in Venice or that Otto van Veen, who was court painter to Archdukes Albert and Isabella, joint governors of Flanders, had introduced Rubens to the Duke during the latter's visit to the Brussels court. The small duchy of Mantua
11235-571: Was registered as his pupil while Willem Panneels and Justus van Egmont were registered in the Guild's records as Rubens's assistants. Anthony van Dyck worked in Rubens's workshop after training with Hendrick van Balen in Antwerp. Other artists linked to the Rubens's workshop as pupils, assistants or collaborators are Abraham van Diepenbeeck , Lucas Faydherbe , Lucas Franchoys the Younger , Nicolaas van der Horst , Frans Luycx , Peter van Mol , Deodat del Monte , Cornelis Schut , Erasmus Quellinus
11342-402: Was renowned as an art centre and the Duke as an avid art collector with a rich collection of Italian masters. Rubens mainly painted portraits of the Duke's family and also copied the famous Renaissance paintings in the Duke's collection. With financial support from the Duke, Rubens travelled to Rome by way of Florence in 1601. There, he studied classical Greek and Roman art and copied works of
11449-493: Was the last flintlock firearm produced for the U.S. military. However, obsolete flintlocks saw action in the earliest days of the American Civil War . For example, in 1861, the Army of Tennessee had over 2,000 flintlock muskets in service. As a result of the flintlock's long active life, it left lasting marks on the language and on drill and parade . Terms such as: " lock, stock and barrel ", " going off half-cocked " and " flash in
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