Peter Paul Rubens Paintings

Peter Paul Rubens (Siegen 1577 - Antwerp 1640) circle of Saint Catherine of Alexandria Never Restored First Canvas Oil on canvas 129.5 x 94 cm The work is based on the painting by Peter Paul Rubens and engraved by Schelte von Bolswert. Rubens, known as "the Prince of the Baroque", was the great master who revolutionized both Flemish and European painting. His first training took place thanks to the masters Otto van Veen and Jan Brueghel the Elder. His trip to Italy, where he stayed, studied and painted for eight years, was fundamental to his artistic growth. His first stop was Venice, where Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto studied. He later came into contact with Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, becoming the court painter of the family, a position he held until the end of his stay in Italy. In Mantua, Rubens had the opportunity to study the rich ducal collection closely and assiduously. By making copies of several famous paintings he was able to practice technically on the examples of the greatest masters. In 1601 he was sent by the duke to Rome, where he was able to further broaden his figurative horizons thanks to the copying of the models of Michelangelo and Raphael and the study of the ancient, also looking at the contemporary artistic production of Carracci, Caravaggio and Federico Barocci. After leaving Italy, he settled in Antwerp, where he organized his atelier, applying the methods of organized production, that is, employing his collaborators with rational criteria and on the basis of individual specializations. Among the many painters who came out of Rubens' workshop or were strongly influenced by the master, we remember: Cornelis and Paul de Vos, Jacob Jordaens, Pieter Van Mol, Victor Wolvoet, Joanna Vergouwen, Jan Boeckhorst known as Lange Jan, Lucas Van Uden, Theodor Van Thulden, Peter Van Lint, Willem Van Harp, Vincent Adrianssen, Pieter Van Avont, Jan and Hendrick van Balen, Theodor Boeyemans or Boeijermans, Vincent Malò...