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Peter Paul Rubens Biography

Peter Paul Rubens Image

RUBENS, Peter Paul, eminent painter, born at Siegen, Germany, June 29, 1577; died in Antwerp, May 30, 1610. He was the son of a lawyer, who died in 1579, and his mother took him to Antwerp in 1587, where he studied in a Jesuit institution. His ability for painting began to be noticed at an early age by his aptness to produce drawings and sketches, and he began to study art systematically in 1590. He became a master of the guild of painters in Antwerp in 1598, and produced a number of paintings that attracted wide attention. In 1600 he proceeded to Italy to study and practice his art, spending his time mostly as court painter to the duke of Mantua. On returning to Antwerp, he was made court painter to Archduke Albert with a good salary, and soon after married Isabella Brant. Subsequently his time was devoted to the production of the masterpieces that have made him famous. Marie de Medici invited him to France in 1621, where he designed a series of pictures illustrating the life of that princess, which were placed in the gallery of the Luxembourg. On returning to Antwerp he was sent by Archduchess Isabella of the Netherlands on a mission to Spain to negotiate a peace treaty with Philip IV., and in 1630 was sent on a similar mission to England to treat with Charles I.

After accomplishing these missions, Rubens painted the portraits of the king and queen, and many of the noted men of England. Charles I. of England and Philip IV. of Spain both knighted him. His wife, Isabella, died in 1626, and in 1630 he was married again, his second wife being Helena Fourment. Rubens accumulated a large fortune. He was a man of strongly marked character, and his excellent and large number of productions place him at the head of the Flemish school. His paintings include landscapes, portraits, Bible subjects, historical views, and animals of all kinds. All his works are noted for their brilliancy and natural effect, many of them selling at enormous prices. Among his most noted paintings are "Elevation to the Cross;" "Descent from the Cross;" "Mercury and Psyche;" "Adoration of the Magi;" "Assumption of the Virgin;" "Massacre of the Innocents," and"Blessings of Peace." The works of Rubens are placed at about 2,500. His remains were buried in a private chapel called the Church of St. James, in which many of his magnificent paintings may be seen, and where a monument to him has been erected.