Peter Paul Rubens - Masterpiece Curations

“I’m just a simple man standing alone with my old brushes, asking God for inspiration.” ~Peter Paul Rubens

Peter Paul Rubens was born in Siegen, Germany on June 28, 1577. His father was a Calvinist lawyer who had fled Antwerp to avoid religious persecution, and his mother was from an affluent merchant family. Peter’s youth was spent between Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, and in 1600, he traveled to Italy to complete his artistic training, studying under some of the great masters of the day including Federico Zuccaro and Orazio Gentileschi.

Rubens’ artistic career began in 1600 when he was apprenticed to the Antwerp painter, Otto van Veen, who had been a pupil of the renowned artist, Adam van Noort. Rubens spent four years in van Veen’s workshop, after which he traveled to Italy to complete his training.

In 1609, he married Isabella Brant, the daughter of a leading Antwerp family, and the couple had three children.

***Self-Portrait in a Circle of Friends from Mantua***

Rubens’ career really took off in 1621 when he was appointed court painter to the king of Spain, Philip IV. This commission resulted in a series of paintings on classical and religious themes for the royal palace in Madrid. He soon gained the patronage of Archduke Albert and Infanta Isabella, the governors of the Spanish Netherlands. By 1630, Rubens was at the height of his career and was in high demand as a portraitist by the nobility and gentry. His portraits are notable for their vitality and elegance.

In 1640, Rubens bought an estate at Het Steen, near Antwerp. He spent a great deal of time and money transforming the property into a luxurious country retreat, with an extensive garden and art collection.

Rubens painted a number of large-scale religious and mythological works, such as “The Elevation of the Cross” (1610) and “The Descent from the Cross” (1612-14). These were highly emotional and dramatic paintings, which reflected Rubens’s deep religious faith. However, during the last 20 years of his life, Rubens concentrated on producing a series of large-scale historical paintings for various patrons, including Charles I of England and Louis XIII of France.

He died at his country estate in 1640, aged 62 and was buried in the local church. He was extremely prolific and produced a large body of work including altarpieces, portraits, landscapes and mythological and allegorical paintings. He also designed tapestries and made prints. His workshop employed a team of specialist artists to work on various aspects of a painting under his supervision. This division of labor enabled Rubens to complete a large number of paintings in a relatively short space of time.