Peter Paul Rubens

in the Honeysuckle Bower" Alte Pinakothek ]] Pieter Pauwel (Peter Paul) Rubens ( June 28 , 1577 – May 30 , 1640 ) was a Flemish artist, considered by many to be one of the greatest Painter s in European Art History , a master of the Baroque style and the most important Flemish painter of the 17th Century . Rubens was born in Siegen , Westphalia to a successful Protestant lawyer who had fled Antwerp to escape religious persecution. In 1589 , two years after his father's death, Rubens and his mother returned to Antwerp, where he had himself baptized a Catholic . Religion figured prominently in much of his later work. In Antwerp, his mother apprenticed Rubens to leading painters of the time. In 1600 he went to Venice , Italy , where he worked as a Court Painter to the duke of Mantua , Vincenzo I Of Gonzaga . He studied ancient Roman art and learned by copying the works of the Italian masters. His mature style was profoundly influenced by Titian . Upon the death of his mother in established Rubens as Flanders' leading religious painter. He received numerous commissions from the French court, including a series of allegorical paintings on the life of Marie De' Medici (now in the Louvre ). He and his workshop executed many monumental religious paintings, such as the '' Assumption Of The Virgin Mary '' in the Cathedral of Antwerp. The young Anthony Van Dyck was one of the assistants in Rubens' studio. , Antwerp]] In the period between 1621 and 1630 , the Spanish Habsburg rulers entrusted Rubens with a number of diplomatic missions. Charles I Of England knighted him for his diplomatic efforts to bring about a peace treaty between England and Spain . He was also commissioned to paint the ceiling of the Banqueting House at the Palace Of Whitehall . In 1630 , four years after the death of his first wife, the 53-year-old painter married 16-year-old Hélène Fourment . Rubens had three children with Isabella and five with Hélène; his youngest child was born eight months after his death. Hélène's charms recur in later works such as ''The Garden of Love'', ''The Three Graces'' and ''The Judgment of Paris'', painted for the Spanish court and now in the Prado . Rubens died of Gout at age 63 and was interred in Saint Jacob's church, Antwerp. At a Sotheby's auction on July 10 , 2002 , Rubens' painting '' Massacre Of The Innocents '' sold for £49.5million ( $ 76.2 million) to Lord Thomson . A renowned collection of Peter Paul Rubens paintings and Cartoons is displayed in the collection of the John And Mable Ringling Museum Of Art in Sarasota , Florida. PAINTING FOR PEACE His picture in the National Gallery, London, '' The Allegory of Peace and War '' ( 1629 ), reflects, and even illustrates, his strong concern for peace. It was given to Charles I and helped to create a peace treaty between London and Madrid . He visited the Netherlands, which was "enemy territory," partly to meet Dutch artists and partly to seek political reconciliation. There he encountered the attitude that courtiers should not use their hands in any art or trade. But because he was such a fine artist, Philip IV and Charles I both enjoyed his company as well as his art.
	Image:Teresa Avila Vision Of The Dove Rubensjpg''Saint	"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Vrhbosna/Theresa_of_Avila" class="copylinks">Theresa Of Avila 's Vision of the Dove''
	Image:Allegory On Charles V As Ruler Of The World By Rubensjpg''Allegory On	"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Vrhbosna/Charles_V,_Holy_Roman_Emperor" class="copylinks">Charles V as ruler of the World

Information About

Peter Paul Rubens