Born June 28, 1577, in Siegen, Germany; died May 30, 1640, in Antwerp. Flemish painter.

Rubens was the son of an emigrant lawyer from Flanders. In 1589 his family settled in Antwerp, where he received a well-rounded humanistic education. At an early age Rubens decided to devote himself to painting. He received his artistic training from T. Verhaecht (1591), A. van Noort (c. 1591–94) and O. van Veen (c. 1594–98). He became a master in the guild in 1598. From 1600 to 1608, Rubens visited Italy (Rome, Mantua, Genoa), where he studied the works of Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and Caravaggio. Most of Rubens’ early paintings are marked by vestiges of mannerism, but certain works (for example, Portrait of the Duke of Lerma, 1603, collection of Countess Valdelagrana, Madrid) foreshadowed the innovative character of the artist’s mature work.

When Rubens returned to Antwerp, he became the principal court painter to the ruler of Flanders, Isabella of Austria. Rubens’ first canvases painted in his homeland are distinguished by a fusion of impressions from Italian Renaissance paintings with the realist traditions of his own national art (for example, the work of Brueghel the Elder). Without destroying the principles of the mature baroque, Rubens chose as the basic content of his art the exaltation of life in its elemental manifestations. His paintings give the impression of unlimited space, destroying the isolation of individual images and making them appear as minor elements of a constantly changing, infinite universe. The composition, usually decorative in scope, is asymmetrical and ruled by an uneasy, complex rhythm. The sharply foreshortened figures are often depicted in turbulent motion, and there are often deep contrasts of light and shade.

During his first years back in Antwerp (1608–12), Rubens painted monumental religious compositions, including Erection of the Cross (c. 1610–11) and Descent From the Cross (c. 1611–14) for the Antwerp Cathedral. During this period he also painted formal portraits (Rubens With His First Wife, Isabella Brant; 1609, Old Pinakothek, Munich) and mythological scenes. Most of these works are marked by a certain deliberateness of pose and gesture and an uneconomical use of color. Between 1612 and 1620, Rubens freed himself from these qualities and painted many of his best works, including the mythological compositions Perseus and Andromeda (c. 1620–21, Hermitage, Leningrad) and The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus (c. 1619–20, Old Pinakothek, Munich), several hunting scenes (c. 1616–17, Old Pinakothek, Munich), and two versions of The Last Judgment (c. 1615–16 and c. 1618–20, Old Pinakothek, Munich). Rubens’ representations of people, mythological deities, and animals are woven into complex and dynamic compositions. Rubens turned away from the purity of color, allowing his colors to blend softly into one another and softening his chiaroscuro. His landscapes, such as The Stone Carters (c. 1620, Hermitage, Leningrad), are largely depictions of imaginary scenes taking place “behind-the-scene” or off in vast distances. Yet they are inspired by the eternal conflict of the elements, by the indestructible interaction of various aspects of the environment, by the character of the landscape, and by human nature. From roughly 1611 to 1618, Rubens worked as an architect. The house he built for himself in Antwerp is noted for a certain theatrical elegance. (The artist kept his valuable collection of paintings and antiquities in this house.)

By 1615–20, Rubens had won fame and recognition. After 1617 his studio produced a number of monumental picture cycles based on Rubens’ sketches (The History of Marie de Médicis, c. 1622–25, Louvre, Paris). Many of Rubens’ students and assistants (A. van Dyck, J. Jordaens, F. Snyders) helped execute these cycles. Because the same devices were used in each of these works, many of them seem conventional.

In the 1620’s, Rubens’ portraits of members of the aristocracy were distinguished by striking luminosity (Maria de Médicis, c. 1622–25, Prado, Madrid). During this period the artist also painted simpler, more intimate portraits (The Maid of the Infanta Isabella, Ruler of the Netherlands, c. 1625, Hermitage). Rubens’ portraits are remarkable not so much for their depth of psychological characterization as for their special ability to transmit an extraordinary vitality, the visible manifestations of which idealize the subject yet give the sitter an unusual emotional persuasiveness. Rubens’ brush reproduced the most precise color and textural nuances of human skin, enabling the viewer to feel the beating of hot, pulsating blood in the transparency and warmth of human flesh.

In 1625 the ruler of Flanders entrusted Rubens with difficult diplomatic missions. Rubens was sent to Holland (1627), Spain (1628–29), and England (1629–30).

Rubens’ canvases of the 1630’s, almost all of which were executed by the artist himself, are characterized by greater individualization than seen in his previous works. They are also marked by a more subdued technique and express an inner warmth of emotionality. Central to Rubens’ late work is the image of his second wife, Helena Fourment, whom the artist depicted in mythological and biblical compositions (Bathsheba Receiving David’s Letter, c. 1635, Dresden Picture Gallery). Rubens also painted several portraits of his wife (Helena Fourment With Fur Coat, c. 1638–40, Historical Museum of Art, Vienna). In these works the artist rejected surface effects and concentrated on transmitting a vivacious, blooming beauty. Cheerfulness exudes in Rubens’ scenes from folk life (The Kermesse, c. 1635–36, Louvre). The artist produced most of his best landscapes in the 1630’s (Landscape With Rainbow, c. 1632–35, Hermitage).

Rubens’ virtuosity is also evident in his numerous sketches (sketches for the decoration of Antwerp for the arrival of the Infante Ferdinand, 1634–35) and drawings. His drawings are noted for their subtle perceptiveness, complex arrangement of ornamental dots and curves, and—sometimes—strict and well-thought-out economy of expressive means. Rubens greatly influenced the development of Flemish painting and European painting in general.