Sir Peter Paul Rubens
Born – Siegen, Germany 1577
Died – Antwerp, Belgium 1640
Although Rubens studied art under mediocre masters he had sound knowledge of Latin, the classics and major European languages. His letters reveal him to have been an antiquarian, businessman and diplomat; as the latter his artistic career gained a momentum which established him as one of the greatest painters of his age. He entered the Antwerp Guild of St Luke in 1598 and went to Italy in 1600. His work as Court Painter put him in a privileged position to admire Titian’s and Raphael’s paintings in royal collections. While in Italy has studies of the Antique and of the High Renaissance inspired his own work on his return to Flanders in 1608. Samson and Delilah reveals these sources in the observation of contrast between youth and age, between Delilah’s pale and soft body and Samson’s dark and muscular back. The impression made upon him by Caravaggio is evident in the dramatic lighting effects and theatrical staging within the composition. It is a more powerful and poignant image than his familiar, fleshy Bacchanalian paintings. Rubens continued to charm various European monarchs, collecting major commissions until his death. His achievements mark a high point in Baroque painting.
Masterpieces:
- Life of Maria de Medici
- An Autumn Landscape with a View of Her Steen
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About sir peter paul rubens
Rubens Drawings: 44 Plates (Dover Fine Art, History of Art)
Peter Paul Rubens
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Peter Paul Rubens: The Drawings (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series)
Anne-Marie Logan
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Policy and Paint or Some Incidents in the Lives of Dudley Carleton and Peter Paul Rubens
Annymous
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