Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)

Siblings – two sisters named Clara and Blandina, and three brothers named Jan Baptist, Filips, and Hendrik

Children – Albert (1614–1657), Nicolaas (1618–1655), and Philip (1619–1674)

### Best Known For

his religious and mythological compositions, which were characterized by dynamism, vitality, and sensuous exuberance

## About

Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens was a prolific artist who ran a large workshop in Antwerp that produced paintings popular with nobility and art collectors throughout Europe. He was also a classically educated humanist scholar and diplomat who was knighted by both Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England. Rubens was an avid art collector and had one of the largest collections of art and antiquities of his time. Rubens was a painter of religious pictures, mythological scenes, classical and modern history, and portraits. He had a broader impact than Anthony van Dyck, another prominent Flemish artist of the seventeenth century. Rubens absorbed profound impressions from classical sculpture and the works of Italian artists such as Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Correggio, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, and others during his trip to Italy in 1600. He was appointed court painter to Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella, who governed the Southern Netherlands from Brussels on behalf of Spain. However, Rubens chose to remain in Antwerp, where he married and built a house and large studio in a Northern version of the modern Italian style. Rubens excelled in almost every subject, from mythology, allegory, and history to portraits and landscape. His designs for tapestries, prints, and book illustrations added to his fame. Rubens was also an accomplished humanist, collector, antiquarian, and court diplomat fluent in six languages. He dedicated much of his artistic energy to promoting the Catholic faith in large-scale works, such as altarpieces and church ceiling decorations, as well as in small-scale commissions, such as the three paintings of the Magi he executed for Balthasar Moretus. Rubens blended the northern European tradition of naturalism with the grandeur and exuberance of the art he studied while travelling through Italy. His dynamic style, characterized by vivid colours, rich textures, and an expressive brush, earned him the admiration and patronage of royals, regents, statesmen, and art collectors throughout Europe.

## Early Life and Education

Peter Paul Rubens was born in Siegen, Germany in 1577 to Jan Rubens and Maria Pypelincks. His father was a lawyer and his mother was an author. The family returned to Antwerp, where Rubens received a classical education and began his artistic apprenticeship at the age of 14. His first job was as a court page to a countess when he was 13 years old. After his mother's death, Rubens decided to stay in Antwerp and became court painter to the rulers of the Netherlands in 1609 at the age of 33. Rubens was a classically educated humanist scholar and diplomat who was knighted by both Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England.

## Relationships

Peter Paul Rubens was married twice in his life. His first wife was Isabella Brant, whom he married in 1609, and they had three children together. Isabella died in 1626, and Rubens married his second wife, Hélène Fourment, in 1630. Hélène was only 16 years old at the time of their marriage, and they had five children together.