Peter Paul Rubens
Rubens born in the Netherlands in 1577, is considered a to be a master of Baroque painting and a father of the Flemish Baroque movement.
Rubens was classically educated and began apprenticing as a painter at the age of fourteen. He had developed considerable technique by his early twenties and had honed his social skills to the extent that he was called upon by dignitaries and royals to perform diplomatic task in Italy and Spain where he was also encouraged to study the creative masterpieces that they possessed.
When he returned to the Netherlands the influence of Masters like: Tiitan, da Vinci and even a closer contemporary Caravaggio lingered in the execution of paintings like The Massacre of the Innocents and Sampson and Delilah.
He was appointed court painter for Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain who gave him special permission to base his studio out of Antwerp rather than in their court in Brussels.
Rubens was revered in his own time and was known not only for his work ethic and incredible skill but also for his reputation as a bon vivant.
Rubens married twice, his first to Isabella Brant lasted 17 years until her death. 4 years later at the age of 53 he married 16 year old Hélène Fourment.
Hélène Fourment, it could be said was the original Rubenesque woman. Rubens was so taken with her ample voluptuous figure that he included her (and sometimes in multiple) in almost all of the paintings he worked on over the next 10 years until his untimely death at the age of 63.
Though he died too young by our standards his death echoed the decadence and hedonism of his last decade. Peter Paul Rubens died of gout, an illness associated with the consumption of rich fatty foods and was at the time referred to as 'a disease of the kings.'
Rubens was survived by 8 children, 3 of who were born to his first wife Isabella and 5, including one born 8 months after his passing to Hélène.
Rubens was classically educated and began apprenticing as a painter at the age of fourteen. He had developed considerable technique by his early twenties and had honed his social skills to the extent that he was called upon by dignitaries and royals to perform diplomatic task in Italy and Spain where he was also encouraged to study the creative masterpieces that they possessed.
When he returned to the Netherlands the influence of Masters like: Tiitan, da Vinci and even a closer contemporary Caravaggio lingered in the execution of paintings like The Massacre of the Innocents and Sampson and Delilah.
He was appointed court painter for Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain who gave him special permission to base his studio out of Antwerp rather than in their court in Brussels.
Rubens was revered in his own time and was known not only for his work ethic and incredible skill but also for his reputation as a bon vivant.
Rubens married twice, his first to Isabella Brant lasted 17 years until her death. 4 years later at the age of 53 he married 16 year old Hélène Fourment.
Hélène Fourment, it could be said was the original Rubenesque woman. Rubens was so taken with her ample voluptuous figure that he included her (and sometimes in multiple) in almost all of the paintings he worked on over the next 10 years until his untimely death at the age of 63.
Though he died too young by our standards his death echoed the decadence and hedonism of his last decade. Peter Paul Rubens died of gout, an illness associated with the consumption of rich fatty foods and was at the time referred to as 'a disease of the kings.'
Rubens was survived by 8 children, 3 of who were born to his first wife Isabella and 5, including one born 8 months after his passing to Hélène.
