Artistic heritage Rubens is incredible. Hundreds and hundreds of works - mythological and religious compositions, portraits, landscapes, small sketches and huge decorative canvases, drawings and architectural projects- all this would be enough for more than one human biography.
Peter Paul Rubens, the path to painting
Creation Flemish master It seems to be a grandiose book that tells about the beauty of man, about the power and greatness of nature. Rubens' art is a song of health and joy.
The great painter was born in a foreign land, in the German city of Siegen, where his parents emigrated to escape the terror of the Spanish enslavers. When, after the death of his father in 1587, future artist moved to Antwerp with his mother, he found this rich city in complete desolation. Flanders, which, unlike Holland, remained under Spanish rule, slowly regained its strength. The dependent position of the country contributed to the rapid rise national identity. But during the years of Rubens's teachings, Flemish art was still only striving to find ground under its feet.
The twenty-three-year-old artist takes a decisive step - he leaves for Italy for a long time, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Caravaggio become his real teachers there, He studies their work, copies paintings, makes sketches of sculpture, From that time begins and secular career Rubens. We see him at the court of the Duke of Mantua, then in Rome. In 1603 he makes his first trip to Spain.
Returning to his homeland in 1608, Rubens quickly occupies a leading position in artistic life countries. His authority is indisputable. In the workshop of Rubens (where, in particular, Jordan and Van Dyck were trained), hundreds of huge canvases are made by order of the court, the nobility and churches. But Rubens still finds time to fulfill the diplomatic missions of the Spanish governors: he travels to Holland, France, and England. In Spain in 1628 he met the young Velasquez.
Place in history
As a diplomat, Rubens spent a lot of energy on establishing peace between the incessantly warring European powers. Disappointed, he was forced, and in the end, to leave the political field. But it gave the artist a knowledge of people and their weaknesses; Rubens "hated the courtyards."
The modern viewer can, perhaps, be chilled by Rubens' pompous canvases dedicated to the exaltation of sovereigns. Etienne Fromentin, author of The Old Masters, likened them solemn ode- it was they who gained special fame during the life of the artist. But for us, the most valuable part of the Rubens legacy is the paintings he painted with his own hand, without the participation of the workshop. Art lovers in our country are well aware of the work of Rubens: the Hermitage has a rich collection of drawings and one of the best collections in the world, numbering more than forty of his paintings. Here, in the Hermitage halls, you can admire life energy images of the allegory "Union of Earth and Water", feel the dramatic expression of the scene "Feast at Simon the Pharisee", enjoy the sonority of the colorful palette of the painting "Perseus and Andromeda" and the emotional Rubensian landscape.
Standing apart - not only in the Hermitage collection, but also in the artist's work in general - is his small "Portrait of a chambermaid", one of the greatest masterpieces of the world portrait painting. There is not even a shadow of affectation in it, everything breathes with clear harmony, the colorful structure is restrained and noble.
Sooner or later anyone who is sensitive to art will find his way to Rubens. And then, according to Fromentin, “a truly amazing sight will appear before him, giving the highest idea of \u200b\u200bhuman abilities.”
The artistic heritage of Rubens is boundless. Hundreds and hundreds of works - mythological and religious compositions, portraits, landscapes, small sketches and huge decorative canvases, drawings and architectural projects - all this would be enough for more than one human biography.
Peter Paul Rubens, the path to painting
The work of the Flemish master seems to be a grandiose book that tells about the beauty of man, about the power and greatness of nature. Rubens' art is a song of health and joy.
The great painter was born in a foreign land, in the German city of Siegen, where his parents emigrated to escape the terror of the Spanish enslavers. When, after the death of his father in 1587, the future artist moved to Antwerp with his mother, he found this rich city in complete desolation. Flanders, which, unlike Holland, remained under Spanish rule, slowly regained its strength. The dependent position of the country contributed to the rapid rise of national self-consciousness. But during the years of Rubens's teachings, Flemish art was still only striving to find ground under its feet.
The twenty-three-year-old artist takes a decisive step - he leaves for Italy for a long time, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Caravaggio become his real teachers there, He studies their work, copies paintings, makes sketches of sculpture, Rubens' secular career begins from that time. We see him at the court of the Duke of Mantua, then in Rome. In 1603 he makes his first trip to Spain.
Returning to his homeland in 1608, Rubens quickly occupies a leading position in the artistic life of the country. His authority is indisputable. In the workshop of Rubens (where, in particular, Jordan and Van Dyck were trained), hundreds of huge canvases are made by order of the court, the nobility and churches. But Rubens still finds time to fulfill the diplomatic missions of the Spanish governors: he travels to Holland, France, and England. In Spain in 1628 he met the young Velasquez.
Place in history
As a diplomat, Rubens spent a lot of energy on establishing peace between the incessantly warring European powers. Disappointed, he was forced, and in the end, to leave the political field. But it gave the artist a knowledge of people and their weaknesses; Rubens "hated the courtyards."
The modern viewer can, perhaps, be chilled by Rubens' pompous canvases dedicated to the exaltation of sovereigns. Etienne Fromentin, the author of the book "Old Masters", likened them to a solemn ode - it was they who gained special fame during the life of the artist. But for us, the most valuable part of the Rubens legacy is the paintings he painted with his own hand, without the participation of the workshop. Art lovers in our country are well aware of the work of Rubens: the Hermitage has a rich collection of drawings and one of the best collections in the world, numbering more than forty of his paintings. Here, in the Hermitage halls, one can admire the vital energy of the images of the allegory "The Union of Earth and Water", feel the dramatic expression of the scene "Feast at Simon the Pharisee", enjoy the sonority of the colorful palette of the painting "Perseus and Andromeda" and the emotional Rubensian landscape.
Standing apart - not only in the Hermitage collection, but also in the artist's work in general - is his small Portrait of a Maid, one of the greatest masterpieces of world portraiture. There is not even a shadow of affectation in it, everything breathes with clear harmony, the colorful structure is restrained and noble.
Sooner or later anyone who is sensitive to art will find his way to Rubens. And then, according to Fromentin, “a truly amazing sight will appear before him, giving the highest idea of \u200b\u200bhuman abilities.”
At the beginning of the 17th century in Flemish art medieval religious forms and genres were finally overcome. Secular plots and genres spread: historical and allegorical, mythological, portrait and everyday genre, landscape. Following Mannerism, the academism of the Bologna school and caravagism penetrated from Italy. Based on the crossing of the realistic tradition Old Dutch painting and caravaggism developed realistic direction, the monumental Baroque style reached its peak. Since the second half of the 16th century, Antwerp has become the largest artistic center of Flanders, retaining the importance of a large European money market.
head Flemish school painting, one of the greatest masters the brush of the past was Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640). Both powerful realism and a national original version of the Baroque style are clearly expressed in his work. Comprehensively gifted, brilliantly educated, Rubens matured early and came to the fore as an artist of enormous creative scope, sincere impulses, bold daring, and stormy temperament. A born muralist, designer of theatrical performances, graphic artist, architect-decorator, talented diplomat who spoke several languages, a humanist scientist, Rubens enjoyed honor and glory at the princely and royal courts of Mantua, Madrid, Paris, London.
Rubens is the creator of huge baroque pathetic compositions, sometimes depicting the apotheosis of the hero, sometimes full of tragedy. The power of plastic imagination, the dynamism of forms and rhythms, the triumph of the decorative principle form the basis of his work. Rubens was born in the city of Siegen (Germany), where his father emigrated to escape the persecution of the Inquisition. Educated at the Latin School of Antwerp, he studied painting with the novelist Otto van Weenius and Van Noort, an adherent of national tradition. A trip to Italy, where he studied the work of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Veronese, Correggio, Caravaggio, as well as ancient monuments, contributed to rapid creative growth.
Upon his return to Antwerp in 1608, Rubens became the court painter of the Spanish viceroy of the Netherlands. His fame grew rapidly. Numerous orders prompted Rubens to organize a painting workshop, in which they worked best artists countries. With his graphic works, Rubens formed national school engravers.
The early (Antwerp period) works of Rubens (before 1611 - 1613) bear the imprint of the influence of the Venetians and Caravaggio. At the same time, his characteristic sense of dynamics, the variability of life, manifested itself. Rubens painted huge canvases that the Dutch in the 16th century did not know. He paid special attention to the creation of altar compositions for Catholic churches. In them, scenes of suffering and martyrdom were played out before the audience, along with the moral victory of the dying hero, as if reminiscent of the recently past dramatic events of the Dutch revolution. This is how the composition “Exaltation of the Cross” (circa 1610–1611, Antwerp, Cathedral) was solved, where a raised cross with a mighty figure illuminated by a narrow sheaf of light of Christ dominates a group of desperate, grieving relatives and hostile executioners, as well as blasphemous guards. The beautiful head of Christ, inspired and suffering, courageous and full of peace of mind, is "the culminating and most expressive note of the poem, in other words, its supreme stanza" (Fromentin). The Exaltation of the Cross shows how the Flemish painter rethought the experience of the Italians. Rubens borrowed powerful chiaroscuro and plastic persuasiveness of forms from Caravaggio. However, expressive figures Rubens are full of pathos, embraced by a swift tense movement, which were alien the art of Caravaggio. A tree bowed by a gust of wind, the fury of the efforts of athletically built executioners hastily raising the cross, sharp angles of figures intertwining with each other, restless glare of light and shadow sliding over muscles quivering from tension - everything merges into a single impetuous impulse that unites both man and nature.
Rubens embraces the whole in its manifold unity. Each personality reveals a character in interaction with other characters. The principles of the classical composition of the art of the Renaissance with its typical isolation and isolation of the depicted scene are crumbling. The space of the picture is solved as part of the vast surrounding world. This impression is emphasized by the diagonal of the cross, as if breaking out of the frame with a bold cut of wood and figures. The monumental altar compositions by Rubens were organically included in the baroque splendor of the church interior, captivating with spectacle, intensity of style, intense rhythms (“Descent from the Cross”, 1611–1614, Antwerp, Cathedral).
The freshness of the perception of life and the desire to give the depicted credibility of the truth are the essence of his works. Heroes of ancient myths, Christian legends, contemporary historical figures and people from the people live in his canvases a tireless life; perceived as part of a mighty primeval nature. Paintings by Rubens early period they are distinguished by their colorful palette, in which one feels deep heat and sonority, they are imbued with the pathos of feelings, until then unknown to Netherlandish art, which gravitated towards intimacy, towards the poetry of everyday life.
Rubens was a great master of paintings on mythological and allegorical themes. Traditional images of folk fantasy gave him a reason to portray heroic feelings and deeds. Like the ancient masters, Rubens saw in man the perfect creation of nature. Hence the artist's special interest in depicting living human body. He valued in him not an ideal beauty, but full-blooded, with an excess of vitality. Stories about the exploits of ancient gods and heroes are free improvisations by Rubens, dedicated to glorifying the beauty of life, the joy of existence. In "Bacchanalia" (1615-1620, Moscow, State Museum visual arts), depicting a festival in honor of the god of wine Bacchus, mythological images are carriers of the natural elemental principle, fertility, inexhaustible love of life.
From the second decade of the 17th century, the dramatic dynamics of Rubens' compositions intensified. The movement of plastic masses, the pathos of gestures are emphasized by the expression of fluttering tissues, hectic life nature. Complex compositions are built asymmetrically along a diagonal, ellipse, spiral, on the opposition of dark and light tones, contrasts of color spots, with the help of many intertwining wavy lines and arabesques that unite and permeate groups. In The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus (1619–1620, Munich, Alte Pinakothek), the drama of the passions that captivate the heroes reaches its climax. The bodies of young women fighting the kidnappers, rearing horses form a pattern complex in linear and color rhythms - it emphasizes the structure of the composition. The restless silhouette of the group is torn apart by violent gestures. The pathos of the composition is enhanced by the low horizon, thanks to which the figures of the heroes rise above the viewer and look clearly against the stormy sky.
Rubens often turned to the themes of man's struggle with nature, to hunting scenes: "Hunting for a wild boar" (Dresden, Art Gallery), "Lion Hunt" (circa 1615, Munich, Alte Pinakothek; sketch - St. Petersburg, Hermitage). The fury of the fight, the physical and spiritual tension brought to the utmost heat. The thrill of life is conveyed by the artist in all phenomena material world, its natural forms.
The picturesque talent of Rubens reached its peak in the 1620s. Color has become the main expression of emotions, organizing the beginning of compositions. Rubens abandoned local color, switched to tonal multilayer painting on white or red ground, combined the thoroughness of modeling with a slight sketchiness. Blue, yellow, pink, red tones are given in proportion to each other in subtle and rich hues; they obey the main silver-pearl or warm olive. Delicate bluish shadows, easily modeling volumes, reddish reflexes, sliding and flashing, fill the forms with a thrill of life, the artist emphasizes the strength of some tones and the softness of others. The color of individual objects is transmitted by a dense layer of body paints. Where needed, the primer and underpainting show through the active colors. Transparent layers of liquid glazing are applied over the body paints, enhancing the depth of tone, freshness and lightness of painting, softening the contours, light places stand out with thick highlights. An impression is created of the variability of an object shrouded in a vibrating light-air medium.
These features of the radiant palette of Rubens characterize the masterpiece of the Hermitage - the painting "Perseus and Andromeda" (1620-1621, glorifying the chivalrous prowess of the hero who defeated sea monster, to which Andromeda was intended as a sacrifice. Rubens sings of the great power of love that overcomes obstacles. Heroic theme revealed by pictorial and plastic means, intense internal dynamics of lines, forms, rhythms. The face of Medusa froze in rage, striking the dragon with a deadly look. The metal of Perseus's armor sparkles menacingly. The triumphant mighty Pegasus is joyfully excited. The excited rhythmic movement that permeates the composition, like a whirlwind, is perceived as an echo of a recent battle. As it approaches Andromeda, it freezes and is barely felt in the flutter of the smooth outlines of her figure. Perseus rushes towards her with a confident courageous step, the goddess of victory Victoria flies easily and swiftly, crowning Perseus with a laurel wreath. The bright red color of Perseus's cloak, the cold silver of his armor contrast with the warm, gentle tone of Andromeda's body, as if woven from light, surrounded by a halo of sparkling golden hair. The light-air environment dissolves the contours of her body. Subtlest juxtapositions of pink-yellow tones with blue undertones, brown tones with flashing red reflections give trepidation to rounded shapes. Shimmering spots of light yellow, pink, red and blue - fluttering clothes, united by a golden underpainting, form a single continuous colorful stream, give rise to an atmosphere of jubilation.
By this time, the creation of twenty large compositions on the theme "The Life of Marie Medici" (1622-1625, Paris, Louvre), intended to decorate the Luxembourg Palace. This is a kind of picturesque ode in honor of the ruler of France. In the painting “The Arrival of Marie de Medici in Marseille”, the theatricality of the whole is combined with naturalness and freedom in the arrangement of the figures.
In the 1620s, Rubens worked extensively as a portrait painter. He continued humanistic tradition portrait High Renaissance, but showed a more direct, personal attitude to people, much more revealed the sensual fullness of life and the charm of the model. "Portrait of a young woman" (circa 1625, St. Petersburg, Hermitage) enchants with the thrill of life, lyricism youthful image. The girl's face, surrounded by a pearly white foam collar, stands out against a dark background. The lightness of writing, golden reflections and transparent shadows, compared with freely placed cold highlights, convey the clarity and purity of her spiritual world. Light sparkles in wet, slightly sad green eyes. It trembles in golden hair, shimmers in pearls. Wavy line smear gives rise to the illusion of surface vibration, a sensation inner life, movement.
Rubens enriches portrait characteristic disclosure public role portrayed. This was in line with the concept of an imposing Baroque portrait designed to depict people of "worth" and "significance". The heroes of Rubens are endowed with a sense of their own superiority, arrogant gravity. In portrait compositions important role play the restraint of a calm pose, a special turn of the figure, the head, a meaningful look and gesture full of dignity, a spectacular costume, the solemnity of the situation, emphasized by heavy curtains or columns, insignia and emblems. With the help of the costume of the person being portrayed, what is left unsaid by the face of the model, her gesture is revealed. In the “Self-portrait” (circa 1638, Vienna, Historical and Art Museum), the turn of the head, a slightly arrogant but benevolent look, a wide-brimmed hat, a casual elegant posture - everything contributes to the disclosure of the ideal of a person of broad outlook, occupying a prominent position, gifted, intelligent, confident in in their power.
From the 1630s, the late period began artistic activity Rubens. After the death of Isabella Brant, the artist married Elena Fourman. Satiated with glory and honors, he retired from diplomatic activity, refused official orders and spent most of his life in the country castle Stan. Rubens painted small-format paintings bearing the imprint of his personal experiences. His perception of the world became deeper, calmer. The compositions acquired a restrained and balanced character. The artist focused on their pictorial perfection: the coloring lost its multicoloredness and became generalized. These recent decades Rubens' works represent the pinnacle of his artistic development. Rubens turned to the image folk life, painted landscapes, portraits of his loved ones, his wife, children, himself in their environment, he is especially successful in the images of children: “Portrait of Helen Fourman with children” (1636, Louvre, Paris). Often intimate notes sound in his works. The image of Helen Fourman, a young Flemish woman, with her elastic body, satin skin, soft fluffy hair, sparkling eyes is full of special freshness - lush, blooming, feminine and charming. The body shimmering with delicate mother-of-pearl colors is shaded by the dark fluffy fur of a fur coat - the painting “Fur Coat”, (1638–1639, Vienna, Historical and Art Museum). The artist subtly feels the shades of translucent colors, delicate, bluish-gray shadows, pink strokes, passing into each other and forming like an enamel alloy.
One of central themes of this period - rural nature, sometimes full of epic grandeur, mighty beauty and abundance, sometimes captivating with simplicity and lyricism. The boundless expanses of fields and pastures, towering hills, groves with lush crowns of trees, lush grass, swirling clouds, winding rivers and country roads that cross the compositions diagonally come to life in Rubens' canvases. The primordial force of nature, its mighty breath are consonant with the figures of peasants and peasant women engaged in everyday work. The artist builds a landscape in large colorful masses, successively alternating plans: “Peasants returning from the fields” (after 1635, Florence, Pitti Gallery). The folk basis of Rubens' creativity is clearly manifested in the "Peasant Dance" (between 1636 and 1640, Madrid, Prado), where young peasants, excellent in their health, exuberant cheerfulness, are given in an organic connection with the poetic image of the fertile land. In the future, the work of Rubens had a huge impact on the development European painting. It was of particular importance for the formation Flemish painting and, above all, Van Dyck.
Rubens (Rubens) Peter Powell (1577-1640), Flemish painter.
Born June 28, 1577 in Siegen (Germany) in the family of a lawyer - an emigrant from Flanders. In 1579 the family moved to Cologne; Rubens spent his childhood there.
After the death of his father in 1587, the mother and children moved to Antwerp. Rubens studied at the school of Rombut Verdonk, then he was assigned as a page to Countess Marguerite de Ligne. At the same time, Peter Powell took drawing lessons from the artists Tobias Verhacht, Adam van Noort and Otto van Veen.
When Rubens was 21 years old, he was accepted as a master in the Guild of St. Luke - the Antwerp association of artists and craftsmen. At this time, Rubens participates in the design of the residence of the new rulers of the Netherlands - Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella.
In May 1600, the artist went to Italy, where he entered the service of the Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo Gonzaga. In March 1603 the duke sent him on an embassy to Spain. Rubens was carrying a Spanish royal family gifts, including several paintings Italian masters. To them he added his canvases. Rubens' work was highly acclaimed in Madrid, and it was in Spain that he first became famous as a painter. After returning from a trip, Rubens traveled around Italy for eight years - he visited Florence, Genoa, Pisa, Parma, Venice, Milan, and lived in Rome for a long time.
In the autumn of 1606, the artist received one of the most tempting orders - painting the main altar of the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella.
In 1608, his mother died, and Rubens went home. He received a position as court painter in Brussels from Infanta Isabella and Archduke Albert.
In 1609, Rubens married 18-year-old Isabella Brandt, daughter of the secretary of the city regency. The artist bought a mansion on Water Street, which now bears his name. In honor of the marriage, Rubens painted a double portrait: he and his young wife, holding each other's hands, sit against the backdrop of a sprawling honeysuckle bush. At the same time, for the city hall in Antwerp, the artist creates a huge canvas “The Adoration of the Magi”.
In 1613, Rubens commissioned Albert to complete the Ascension of Our Lady for the Church of Notre Dame de la Chapelle in Brussels. An extraordinary success was his painting of the altar of the Antwerp Cathedral: "Descent from the Cross" (in the center), "Punishment of the Lord" (left), "Performance in the Temple" (right) (1611-1614). Rubens' brushes belong to the canvases "Hunting for lions", "Battle of the Greeks with the Amazons" (both 1616-1618); "Perseus and Andromeda", "The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus" (1620-1625); cycle of paintings "History of Mary Medici" (1622-1625).
IN later work painter, the central place is occupied by the image of his second wife, Helen Fourman, whom he depicts in mythological and biblical compositions (“Bathsheba”, about 1635), as well as in portraits (“Fur Coat”, about 1638-1640).
The feeling of cheerfulness and fun is embodied in scenes from folk life ("Kermessa", around 1635-1636). By the 30s. applies to most the best landscapes Rubens ("Landscape with a Rainbow", circa 1632-1635).
Peter Paul Rubens - greatest genius of his time. His name is forever entrenched in the history of art. Artist with capital letter, as is well known, was also wonderful person: handsome, smart, energetic and self-confident. An artist who during his lifetime did not doubt his work.
Childhood and youth
Peter Rubens was born on June 28, 1577 in the German city of Siegen. Although there are some disputes with the date of birth: the artist's biography has been rewritten more than once. His family emigrated from Belgium to Germany during the outbreak in the Netherlands. civil war and terror against Protestants.
The artist's father, Jan Rubens, was a city judge in Antwerp, Belgium until 1568. His wife, Maria Peypelincks, raised four children. The whole family ended up in Germany, and at that time three more children were born. Among them was Peter Rubens.
The first eleven years of the painter's childhood were spent in Cologne. Father continued to work as a lawyer, mother - to raise children. The usual stability was shaken when a prominent and wealthy head of the family entered into a relationship with the wife of William of Orange, Anna.
After that, Jan Rubens was deprived of his property and the right to work as a lawyer, and Maria had to sell vegetables in the market in order to feed her children. From Cologne, Rubens, together with his wife and offspring, was sent to Siegen in 1573.
In 1587, Jan Rubens died from an illness. At the same time, Paypelinks lost several children. The widow of Rubens converted to Catholicism and returned to her homeland, to Antwerp. The children went to a Latin school.
At that time, changes were taking place in the city. It became impossible to continue trading due to closed sea routes. Each of the children of Rubens had to find their place in life. The girls became the wives of wealthy husbands. One of the sons, Philip, followed in his father's footsteps, studying to be a lawyer. The elder Jan Baptist took up painting professionally.
Painting
In the 16th century, great changes took place in the art world. The Flemings invented paint for drawing, more convenient and practical. It is based on flax oil. This added brightness to the colors and increased the drying time. The pictures became deeper, and the work turned into a leisurely pleasure.
Peter Paul has been fascinated by art since childhood. From the age of 14, he studied the craft with local artists. The future painter learned the basics from the landscape painter Tobias Warhacht, who was related to him.
The second master in the life of Rubens was another relative: Adam van Noort. Peter Paul intended to get from the famous artist knowledge that was not obtained while working with Warhacht. For four years the student worked under the supervision of Noort. During this time, young Peter developed an interest in the Flemish atmosphere. This later affected his work.
In 1595 begins new stage in the work of Peter Rubens. The next teacher is Otto van Veen (at that time one of the most influential artists). He is called the founder of mannerism and the main mentor of Rubens, whose talent acquired new facets during his studies.
Peter Paul Rubens did not paint in the manner of Veen, although his style had a great influence on the artist's worldview. The mentor became for him an example of versatility and education. Even in childhood, Rubens was drawn to knowledge, studied languages (he was fluent in six languages) and humanitarian sciences.
Lessons from Otto Van Veen Rubens took until 1599, and then in the official status " freelance artist"In 1600 he went to Italy to improve his skills and admire the works of antiquity.
At that time, the painter was 23 years old, but he already had his own style, thanks to which, almost immediately, Peter Rubens was invited to the service of Vincenzo Gonzaga, the ruler of Mantua. The duke was addicted antique art, loved Renaissance paintings. Rubens often wrote copies for him.
Peter Paul spent eight years at the court of Gonzaga. It is believed that the service is a good decision for the artist, since the church authorities of that time began to oppose heresy in the paintings of contemporary artists.
During the time spent in Italy, the young painter visited Rome, Madrid, Venice, Florence. Carried out diplomatic missions.
In 1608, Rubens hastily returned to Antwerp after learning of his mother's death. He did not plan to leave for Italy: the loss seemed so heavy that the artist was thinking about leaving for a monastery. But Peter could not leave painting. In addition to numerous orders from wealthy residents hometown, he received an offer to work at the court of Archduke Albert.
In Antwerp, the artist became one of the most sought after. He tried to keep up with the orders of the Archduke, paint the cathedral and paint pictures for hundreds of other residents of the city. In 1618, the masterpiece "Union of Earth and Water" appeared. It clearly shows the influence Italian artists to the style of the painter. It was believed that the main idea of the canvas was the unity of Antwerp and the Scheldt River.
The volume of orders increased considerably and Peter Paul opened his own workshop. Now he, once a diligent student, shared his knowledge with young talents(names such as Jacob Jordan, Frans Snyders remained in history). Pupils carried out numerous orders of the townspeople. This eventually became a thoughtful system, a school of art.
Meanwhile, in 1620, another work of art appeared, the pinnacle of Rubens' creativity - "Perseus and Andromeda", the plot of which is connected with ancient myth, which Peter Paul was so fond of.
Closer to 1630, Peter Rubens was tired of a busy lifestyle. For some time he stayed in seclusion, creating another brilliant picture. "Three Graces" and "The Judgment of Paris" are the embodiment of the nature of their author. Rubens was always attracted by the beauty and plasticity of a voluminous female body.
"Susanna and the Elders" has become a classic of Flemish painting. The plot refers to the Old Testament. Paintings by Rubens that belonged to cathedrals are associated with Holy Scripture (« Last Supper”, “Samson and Delilah”), although his work covers more another area of life - bright, lush, dramatic. Not all paintings of a church orientation were approved. One of these is the Exaltation of the Cross. She was considered very controversial.
The “Massacre of the Innocent” personifies the scene from the bible when Herod exterminated babies, fearing the coming. Biographers write that the author liked this work more than anyone else.
Another monument of the Baroque era is the awesome Medusa. The reaction of contemporaries to this picture justified the expectations of Peter Rubens. People were frightened by the frankness of the work. The artist was indifferent to political affairs Antwerp.
His work for a long time was associated with politics, including Meduza, which locals regarded as a sign of warning.
Peter Paul Rubens, thanks to paintings and diplomatic skills, managed to achieve peace between Madrid and London. The artist dreamed of influencing the course of the war in home country, but he failed to do so. After numerous trips, the 50-year-old Rubens finally settled in Antwerp.
Personal life
After returning from Italy, Rubens married Isabella Brant, the 18-year-old daughter of an official.
The marriage was based on calculation, although the young girl surrounded Rubens with care and attention for 17 years. The first wife bore Peter Paul three children. She died of a heart attack in 1630.
At 50, Peter Rubens remarried. 16-year-old Elena Fourman - last love artist, his main muse, mother of five children.
Death
In 1640, Peter Paul Rubens fell ill. Due to age, the artist could not recover from the illness. The Flemish painter died on May 30 next to his children and his beloved wife Elena.
Artworks
- 1610 - "Exaltation of the Cross"
- 1610 - "Samson and Delilah"
- 1612 - "Massacre of the Innocent"
- 1612 - "Massacre of the Innocent"
- 1614 - "Descent from the Cross"
- 1616 - "The Hunt for Hippo and Crocodile"
- 1618 - "The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus"
- 1626 - "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary"
- 1629 - "Adam and Eve"
- 1639 - "The Judgment of Paris"
