Artist Peter Paul Rubens

The Life and Art of Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)

The Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens is often named by art historians as the leading exponent of the Baroque style of painting, and is credited for being the first artist to marry the characteristic styles of Northern and Italian Renaissance art. He is also called the great painter of the Counter-Reformation whose works embodied Orthodox Catholic doctrine. Although his father was an "ardently Calvinist Antwerp lawyer" after his father's death Peter Paul was raised a Roman Catholic (Pioch 2002). His foremost artistic influences came from studying in Catholic Italy and Spain during his youth, where he gave particular attention to the works of Titian. Ruben's adaptation of Titan's robust depictions of the female form would give birth to the adjective 'Rubenesque.'

Rubens' works are characterized by unparalleled sprawl and a "love of monumental forms and dynamic effects" although towards the end of his career, he did paint more sedate portraits and landscapes (Pioch 2002). To fulfill his royal commissions, "including the famous 21-painting cycle" depicting the life of Marie de Medicis, "originally painted for the Luxembourg Palace" Rubens set up his own studio "along the lines of Italian painters' workshops, in which fully qualified artists executed paintings from the master's sketches. Rubens's personal contribution to the over 2,000 works produced by this studio varied considerably from work to work" (Pioch 2002). The studio acted as a kind of de facto academy for many young artists who served as Reuben's assistants, including Anthony van Dyck.

Rubens has been called, in contrast to the inward-looking Dutch depicters of scenes of private, interior life, a 'public' painter, a status underlined by his equally impressive career as a negotiator and diplomat for his royal patrons, Archduke Ferdinand and Archduchess Isabella, during the war between the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Republic. "A devout Roman Catholic, he imbued his many religious paintings with the emotional tenor of the Counter-Reformation. This aggressively religious stance, along with his deep involvement in public affairs, lent Rubens's work a conservative and public cast that contrasts sharply with the more private and secular paintings of his great Dutch contemporary, Rembrandt' (Pioch 2002).

Works Cited

Pioch, Nicholas. "Peter Paul Rubens." WebMuseum. July 17, 2002. April 13, 2009.

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/rubens/