Peter Paul Rubens, a son of an Antwerp lawyer and magistrate, was born on June 28, 1577, in Siegen, Westphalia. As a Flemish artist and diplomat, Rubens dominated the 17th-century Flemish school and was one of the foremost painters of all time. With complete mastery, he united the best of the Northern and Italian traditions in his art. The body of his work, extraordinarily immense and varied, defies simple classification, in part because he always adapted his approach to the theme, size, and function of the painting. He decorated churches and palaces and painted countless portraits, landscapes, and events in classical mythology and he had to employ many assistants to complete his numerous commissions.
Rubens was known above all for the brilliant color of his works. Even today we admire the robust, pink-cheeked beauty of the women he painted. Religious, mythological, and allegorical themes, sometimes in combination, predominate, but Rubens also painted scenes of peasant life, landscapes, and hunts, which he raised to a new level of pictorial and thematic richness. His portraits, in particular those of his family, rank among the greatest of the 17th century.
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