Peter Paul Rubens

One of the most versatile and accomplished figures in the history of art, Peter Paul Rubens was born in Siegen, Germany on June 28, 1577. His father, Jan Rubens, had fled Antwerp to escape persecution because of his Calvinist beliefs. The Rubens family moved to Cologne in 1578, and returned to Antwerp following Jan's death in 1587. As a youth, Rubens was educated in the classics, and demonstrated a particular talent for languages. He studied painting with the artists Tobias Verhaecht (1561-1631), Adam van Noort (1562-1641), and Otto van Veen (1556-1629), and became a master in the Antwerp guild of St. Luke in 1598. In 1600, Rubens embarked on an extended Italian sojourn to further his artistic education. He was engaged as court painter to Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, from 1601 until 1608, although he spent most of that time in other cities (Rome, Genoa, Madrid) working for other patrons.

Rubens returned to Antwerp late in 1608, and less than a year later was named court painter to the Archdukes Albert and Isabella, governors of the Spanish Netherlands. He received prestigious commissions from church, state, and private patrons, and almost single-handedly revitalized the city of Antwerp as a cultural center. To fill the demand for his work, Rubens worked in collaboration with other artists and oversaw an atelier of assistants, the most able of whom was Anthony van Dyck. In addition to his artistic enterprises, Rubens was also active as a diplomat and political agent during the 1620s and early '30s. Rubens was married twice: to Isabella Brant (1591-1626) in 1609, and to Hélène Fourment (1614-1673) in 1630. The artist died in Antwerp on 30 May 1640, and was buried in the St. Jacobskerk.