Peter Paul Rubens

Baroque

He is regarded as the supreme painter of the Flemish Baroque.

💡 Did you know? Rubens was the most celebrated painter of the Baroque: courts across Europe competed for his works.

Antwerp

In Antwerp Rubens ran one of the largest painting workshops in Europe.

💡 Did you know? His house and studio in Antwerp is today a much-visited museum.

movement and sensuality

Rubens's pictures burst with movement, strong colour and sensual, full-bodied figures: the very image of Baroque exuberance.

💡 Did you know? Ample female figures are still called "Rubenesque" today.

diplomat

Rubens also served European princes as diplomat and secret envoy: disguising his missions as artistic visits.

💡 Did you know? He helped negotiate peace between Spain and England and was knighted.

a large workshop

His most famous pupil was Anthony van Dyck.

💡 Did you know? Rubens designed and his assistants executed: so thousands of works arose; those painted entirely by his own hand are especially prized.

1640

Rubens died in Antwerp in 1640 a rich, ennobled and internationally celebrated man.

💡 Did you know? Knighted by two kings, Rubens was one of the few artists to gain wealth and nobility in his own lifetime.

The Elevation of the Cross

Painted around 1610.

💡 Did you know? Muscular men heave the cross upright: Rubens's dramatic breakthrough in Antwerp.

The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus

Painted around 1618.

💡 Did you know? A whirl of horses, men and women's bodies: Baroque movement perfected.

Rubens and Isabella Brant in the honeysuckle bower

Painted around 1609.

💡 Did you know? A tender self-portrait with his first wife, painted shortly after their wedding.

The Three Graces

Around 1630: a prime example of his sensual ideal of beauty.

💡 Did you know? The full female bodies made the term „Rubenesque“ a byword for voluptuous beauty to this day.

The Descent from the Cross

Painted around 1611.

💡 Did you know? A masterpiece in Antwerp Cathedral: the pale Christ slides diagonally into the picture.

Samson and Delilah

Around 1609: a dramatic scene full of Baroque tension.

💡 Did you know? Delilah has the sleeping Samson's hair cut: the attribution to Rubens is still debated today.

Massacre of the Innocents

Painted around 1611.

💡 Did you know? In 2002 the dramatic picture sold for over 70 million pounds: a record for an Old Master.

Romulus and Remus

Painted around 1615.

💡 Did you know? The she-wolf suckles Rome's founding twins: Rubens's love of antiquity made visible.

Head of Medusa

Painted around 1618.

💡 Did you know? A grisly picture of the severed, snake-wreathed head of Medusa.

The Judgement of Paris

Painted around 1636.

💡 Did you know? Paris must choose the fairest of three goddesses, for Rubens a welcome excuse for three nudes.

Helena Fourment in a Fur Robe

Painted around 1638.

💡 Did you know? Rubens painted his young second wife wrapped only in a fur: a very private, sensual picture.

Peter Paul Rubens

Peter Paul Rubens (1577 to 1640) was the foremost Flemish painter of the Baroque, famous for his dynamic, sensual and richly coloured pictures.

💡 Did you know? Rubens was not only a prince of painters but a diplomat: he spoke several languages and mediated between Europe's powers on kings' behalf.