Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)

Peter Paul Rubens

A simple mission lies at the heart of Peter Paul Rubens: to give the most complete picture of the great Flemish master as possible. No fewer than 163 paintings, sketches, and drawings by the artist, plus nine tapestries, are put to this worthy task.

Influences

A faithful, objective understanding of Peter Paul Rubens arises, from his beginnings under the influence of his master Otto Venius and Italian art, right through to the end of his career, when he basked in a major Spanish commission. Peter Paul Rubens is at home in all genres, and all are represented here: from landscapes to portraits, from altarpieces to genre scenes, and historical paintings too, of course. Even the talents of the decorator are revealed in his painted sketches, drawings, and tapestries.

Rubens publication

For "Rubens", the master's oeuvre is divided into five groupings: Rubens' Beginnings, Rubens and Italy, The Middle-Class Patron, Official Commissions, and Secular Subject Matter. Through the inclusion of tapestries, particular attention is paid to the genesis of his art. Works such as Descent from the Cross, Laying in the Sepulchre, The Stoning of Saint Stephen, and three altarpieces created for the city of Lille's churches and convents are included.
From this impressive homage to Peter Paul Rubens, the general reader, connoisseur, and historian will all hopefully come to know Peter Paul Rubens better, and also be stimulated by the juxtaposition of works never presented in this way before.
Published on the occasion of Peter Paul Rubens, an exhibition at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Lille, France.

Rubens by Arnauld Brejon Lavergnee
ISBN: 9053495002

Peter Paul Rubens: Drawings

For the great Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), drawing was a fundamental activity. In Rubens's large Antwerp studio, drawings were made for the creation of new paintings; collaborators used them to assist the master on these paintings; and they served as instructional material for pupils. The drawings were guarded from the outside world because they were considered a kind of studio secret; the competition could exploit designs for new compositions if they were released prematurely. How precious Peter Paul Rubens considered his drawings is evident from his testament, which stipulated that they should be passed on to any of his sons or sons-in-law who chose to be a painter; only when it was clear, once all his children were grown, that none would become an artist or marry one could the drawings be dispersed.

Full-color reproductions

"Peter Paul Rubens: The Drawings" presents, in full-color reproductions, more than one hundred of the finest and most representative of Rubens's drawings, ranging from delightful renderings of children and elegant portraits of noblemen and women to vigorous animal studies and beautiful landscapes.
Essays by Anne-Marie Logan and Michiel C. Plomp provide overviews of Rubens's career as a draftsman and of the eventual dispersal of his drawings among collectors some fifteen years after his death. Anne-Marie Logan and Michiel Plomp discuss the various functions of Peter Paul Rubens's drawings as preparatory studies for paintings, sculpture, prints, and book illustrations and as private studies meant largely for the artist's own enjoyment.

Includes early anatomical studies

"Peter Paul Rubens: The Drawings" also includes a sampling of the artist's early anatomical studies and copies after antique sculpture, made during his years in Italy (1600-1608). In all likelihood it was also in Italy that Peter Paul Rubens began to collect old master drawings. Eventually he amassed a large quantity of other artists' drawings, most of them by sixteenth-century Italian masters, and he retouched, restored, or reworked many of them.

Peter Paul Rubens: The Drawings by Anne-Marie Logan and Michiel Plomp
ISBN: 0300104944

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