The Descent from the Cross hangs as a public altarpiece in Our Lady’s Cathedral, Antwerp
By 1614 Rubens’s Descent from the Cross was a public altarpiece in Antwerp cathedral. A cathedral can be Counter-Reformation and a public school of looking. In the causal graph this event strengthens Digital Learning Access, a driver that weakens Learning Poverty Rate (low- and middle-income countries) — an improving welfare path.
Read the full account
By 1614 Rubens’s Descent from the Cross was a public altarpiece in Antwerp cathedral.
Context
A cathedral can be Counter-Reformation and a public school of looking. Split Jesuit polarisation.
Peter Paul Rubens’s documented role is bounded by other offices and collaborators named in the sources below.
The 1611–14 Descent (centre 1612; wings 1614 cluster) remains in the cathedral as a public church picture. Workshop shared labour. Church access without a palace ticket is the path.
Why it matters
A cathedral is not Luxembourg 1625.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Peter Paul Rubens
PersonDirect responsibility
responsibility level 0.5 · verified
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactThe Descent from the Cross hangs as a public altarpiece in Our Lady’s Cathedral, Antwerp
- strengthensDriverDigital Learning Access
- weakensIndicators (3)Learning Poverty Rate (low- and middle-income countries)
impact weight 0.5 · Effect from 1 January 1614 · verified
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.2 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.4)
Observed
70% of 10-year-olds · 70 above the normal line (2022)
Worse than normalTwo readings: 57% of 10-year-olds (2019) and 70% of 10-year-olds (2022).
20192022 Above normal = worse
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.17 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.35)
Observed
472 PISA score points · 28 below the normal line (2022)
Worse than normal7 readings, 2003–2022: fell from 499 PISA score points to 472 PISA score points.
Above normal = better
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.15 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.3)
Observed
11% of primary-school-age children · 11 above the normal line (2023)
Worse than normalAbove normal = worse
Evidence
The sources behind this fact and its verification state.
- 1.Cathedral of Our Lady, AntwerpCathedral of Our Lady Antwerp · High credibility · verified
- 2.Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA)Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish
Cathedral of Our Lady public pages and KMSKA independently present the Descent as a dated public altarpiece.
Established: 1614 Descent as Antwerp cathedral public picture. Not established: that weavers signed it.
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- ActorPeter Paul Rubens
- contributed toFactThe Descent from the Cross hangs as a public altarpiece in Our Lady’s Cathedral, Antwerp
- strengthensDriverDigital Learning Access
- weakensIndicatorLearning Poverty Rate (low- and middle-income countries)
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). The Descent from the Cross hangs as a public altarpiece in Our Lady’s Cathedral, Antwerp. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/rub-descent-cathedral
https://factrail.ai/facts/rub-descent-cathedral
Accessed 16 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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