Saturday, June 07, 2008

Art of Peter Paul Rubens



Peter Paul Rubens, a Flemish baroque painter, was one of the great painters of his time (1577- 1640). His paintings show the intense religious strife of his times, and reflect his Catholic faith, illuminating Biblical history and Catholic dogma. Ruben's father was a Calvinist lawyer, but after the death of his father, Peter Paul was raised a Catholic and received his artistic training at an early age. He was a master painter by the age of twenty one. One of my favourite paintings of Ruben's is his Immaculate Conception, above, which shows his strong belief in a dogma that was as yet unofficially defined, but believed by faith throughout the ages of the church.

There are many more of his paintings, and because this post shows up so often in Google searches, I have added more of them here, but it is only a sampling of what is available. Click on each image to enlarge it. Save it if you like; all the information is already there in the title for you.


Raising of the Cross 1610



Daniel in the Lions' Den, c. 1614/1616



The Meeting of David and Abigail, c. 1630



Head of One of the Three Kings: Melchior, The Assyrian King, c. 1618



The Fall of Phaeton, c. 1604/1605, (Greek mythology)



The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, c. 1626



The Finding of Erichthonius, 1632-33



Annunciation, Peter Paul Rubens 1610; oil on canvas, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna



Battle of the Amazons, Peter Paul Rubens, 1618; Alte Pinakothek, Munich



The Assumption of Mary, Peter Paul Rubens, 1620-1622, oil on panel, Mauritshuis, The Hague


The Ecstasy of St. Gregory the Great, Peter Paul Rubens, 1608, oil on canvas, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Grenoble

4 comments:

Michele said...

most excellent artist.

Shirley said...

Ah, to be able to paint like that....

Tom in Vegas said...

I am beyond words. That first painting of Mary is absolutely beautiful!! Beyond what words can express.

And the Raising of the Cross! Can you see the eyes of Jesus fixed upward??

Judging from the timeline in which he lived, he might be considered one of the "Old Masters."

Patrick said...

Really Beautiful.
I'll admit that 16th-19th century art isn't my thing (I prefer Late Antiquity, Early and Late Medieval artworks and 'historical realism') but Rubens is just one of the best of them all, IMHO.