Isabella Brant Explained

Isabella Brant
Birth Date:	1591
Death Date:	15 July 1626 (aged 34)
Nationality:	Flemish
Children:	Clara Rubens, Nikolaas Rubens, Albert Rubens

Isabella Brant (or Brandt; 1591 – 15 July 1626^[1]) was the first wife of the Flemish baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, who painted several portraits of her.

Family

She was the eldest daughter of Jan Brant, an important city official in Antwerp, and Clara de Moy, daughter of Hendrik de Moy. Her aunt Maria de Moy was married to Philip Rubens, brother of her future husband. Isabella Brant married Peter Paul Rubens on 3 October 1609 in St. Michael's Abbey, Antwerp. They had three children: Clara, Nicolaas, Lord of Rameyen and Albert. She was 34 years old when she died of the plague.Jan Brant;
married to Clara de Moy; daughter of Hendrik de Moy.^[2]

1. 1. Isabella Brant, (1591–1626);
      married to Peter Paul Rubens.
      1. Albert Rubens
   2. Hendrik Brant (1594); died in youth.
   3. Jan Brant (1596); died without children.
   4. Clara Brant (1599);
      married in 1619 to Daniel II Fourment, Lord of Wijtvliet, brother of Helena Fourment

Works

Several paintings and one important drawing of Isabella Brant by the hand of Rubens survive. Rubens' studio assistant Anthony van Dyck also painted her portrait.

In 1977, Brant appeared on a postage stamp of Anguilla.

Notes

1. ROSINE DE DIJN, "Liefde, leed en passie. De vrouwen van Rubens", Van Halewyck, Leuven, 2009
2. “De” Vlaamsche school: algemeen tijdschrift voor kunsten en letteren / Buschmann, 1863