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