Peter Paul Rubens
Peter Paul Rubens is often cited as one of the very first Baroque painters of the seventeenth century. His works cover a broad area of subject matter and themes. The main attribute that ties all of his work together is his love of the color and movement. His professional career was very successful despite his relatively "slow" development. Though he was no child prodigy, like his famous student Van Dyck, he was a sought-after court painter, and was often called upon to complete commissions for important figures and art patrons of the seventeenth century. With works ranging from portraits of the Archduke and Archduchess of the Netherlands to landscape paintings of the countryside of Flanders and with subject matter spanning from biblical stories as in The Raising of the Cross to complicated mythological allegories depicting Rubens own political opinions as in The Horrors of War, Rubens manipulates color, movement, and texture to exemplify the Baroque style that became the most popular style of artwork in the seventeenth century.
Above: Self-Portrait. Oil on canvas. 1623.
Sydney, The Art Gallery of New South Wales.
(Source: http://cs.nga.gov.au/IMAGES/LRG/89843.JPG)
Above: Self-Portrait. Oil on canvas. 1623.
Sydney, The Art Gallery of New South Wales.
(Source: http://cs.nga.gov.au/IMAGES/LRG/89843.JPG)