Peter Paul Rubens (June 28, 1577 - May 30, 1640) was a prolific seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque

painter, and a proponent of an exuberant Baroque style that emphasized movement, color, and
sensuality. He is well-known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history
paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects.

In addition to running a large studio in Antwerp which produced paintings popular with nobility and art
collectors throughout Europe, Rubens was a classically-educated humanist scholar, art collector, and
diplomat who was knighted by both Philip IV, king of Spain, and Charles I, king of England.

Rubens was born in Siegen, Westphalia, to Jan Rubens and Maria Pypelincks. His father, a Calvinist, and
mother fled Antwerp for Cologne in 1568, after increased religious turmoil and persecution of
Protestants during the rule of the Spanish Netherlands by the Duke of Alba. Jan Rubens became the
legal advisor (and lover) to Anna of Saxony, the second wife of William I of Orange, and settled at her
court in Siegen in 1570. Following imprisonment for the affair, Peter Paul Rubens was born in 1577. The
family returned to Cologne the next year. In 1589, two years after his father's death, Rubens moved with
his mother to Antwerp, where he was raised Catholic. Religion figured prominently in much of his work
and Rubens later became one of the leading voices of the Catholic Counter-Reformation style of
painting.

In Antwerp, Rubens received a humanist education, studying Latin and classical literature. By fourteen
he began his artistic apprenticeship with Tobias Verhaeght. Subsequently, he studied under two of the
city's leading painters of the time, the late mannerists Adam van Noort and Otto van Veen. Much of his
earliest training involved copying earlier artists' works, such as woodcuts by Hans Holbein the Younger
and Marcantonio Raimondi's engravings after Raphael. Rubens completed his education in 1598, at
which time he entered the Guild of St. Luke as an independent master.

The Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577- 1640) was one of the foremost figures of Baroque
painting. A highly prolific artist who is credited with more than 1000 works was a master of drama and
color which was used to create both contrast and harmony as well as to emphasize emotion, sensuality
and tension. Apart from religious and allegorical themes for which he is perhaps best known, Rubens
also painted landscapes, portraits and historical subjects. Some of his best works include:

Samson and Delilah

Measuring 185cm x 205cm (73in x 81in), this Rubens masterpiece was painted in 1609-10 for Nicolaas
Rockox, an influential Antwerp lawyer, collector and patron of arts. The painting was obviously inspired
by the Biblical story of Samson and Delilah and depicts the moment when Delilahs servant is cutting the
hair of Samson while asleep in his lovers lap. The painting also includes a mysterious old woman who
perhaps symbolizes the future and Philistine soldiers waiting outside the room. The paintin
Honeysuckle Bower

The Honeysuckle Bower is a self-portrait of the painter and his first wife. Measuring 178cm x 136.5cm
(70in x 54in), the oil painting was painted soon after the couples marriage in 1609 and depicts the
newlyweds sitting in a honeysuckle bower. It is full of symbolism but there are almost exclusively
symbols of love. For example, honeysuckle is a traditional symbol of love, just like the surrounding
garden. Likewise, the newlyweds are leaning towards each other which reflects their affection and
devotion. The painting is owned and displayed by the Alte Pinakothek gallery in Munich.

Honeysuckle Bower

The Honeysuckle Bower is a self-portrait of the painter and his first wife. Measuring 178cm x 136.5cm
(70in x 54in), the oil painting was painted soon after the couples marriage in 1609 and depicts the
newlyweds sitting in a honeysuckle bower. It is full of symbolism but there are almost exclusively
symbols of love. For example, honeysuckle is a traditional symbol of love, just like the surrounding
garden. Likewise, the newlyweds are leaning towards each other which reflects their affection and
devotion. The painting is owned and displayed by the Alte Pinakothek gallery in Munich.

The Descent from the Cross

The Descent from the Cross is the middle piece of The Elevation of the Cross, a triptych that was painted
by Rubens for the Confraternity of the Arquebusiers for their altar at the Cathedral of Our Lady in
Antwerp. With the exception of a brief period in the late 18th and early 19th century, it has been
located in the Antwerps Cathedral ever since. This particular panel was finished in 1614 and depicts
lowering of the Christs body from the cross.

The Assumption of the Virgin Mary

This is another Rubens masterpiece that can be admired in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp. Like
the title suggests, the central theme is the ascend of Virgin Mary into Heaven. The actual Assumption is
depicted in the upper half of the painting, while the lower part portrays Marys empty tomb which is
surrounded by the 12 disciples and 3 women who are though to represent Mary Magdalene and the
Virgins two sisters. The panel, which measures 490cm x 325cm (190in x 128in), was finished around
1626 as an altarpiece for the Antwerps Cathedral.

The Origin of Milky Way

Finished around 1637, this painting was commissioned, along with a few others, by Philip IV of Spain to
decorate Torre de la Parada, the former royal hunting lodge not far from Madrid. The painting, which
measures 181cm 244cm (71in x 96in), has been inspired by the Greco-Roman myth about the
formation of the Milky Way and portrays Hera (Juno in Roman mythology) spilling her breast milk when
pulling away from the baby Heracles (Hercules). The painting also includes Zeus (Jupiter) observing the
scene in the background. It is now displayed at the Prado Museum in Madrid.