1577 -1640 · Siegen, Italy, Antwerp and European courts

Powerful bodies, fiery diagonals and carnal color make Peter Paul Rubens the sovereign figure of Flemish Baroque.

Peter Paul Rubens was born in Siegen in 1577 and died in Antwerp in 1640. Raised in Antwerp from the age of ten, he trained in particular with Otto van Veen and became master of the guild of Saint Luke in 1598. His Italian stay from 1600 to 1608 was decisive: Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Michelangelo, Antiquity and the innovations of Caravaggio nourished a personal synthesis. Returning to Antwerp, Rubens was appointed court painter to the Archdukes Albert and Isabella. He built a house-workshop capable of responding to orders from churches, sovereigns and European collectors. The Elevation of the Cross took the bodies along a heroic diagonal; The Descent from the Cross opposes this push the silent whiteness of Christ. The Massacre of the Innocents transforms anatomical entanglement into historical violence, while Samson and Delilah condenses betrayal, desire and chiaroscuro. Rubens often designed the composition and essential passages before entrusting certain parts to specialized collaborators. Humanist, collector and diplomat, he negotiated between the courts of Spain and England and received nobility. In his last years at Steen Castle, he also painted more personal and luminous landscapes. His work united erudition, physical energy and workshop organization on an exceptional scale. His work unites erudition, physical energy and workshop organization on an exceptional scale. His work unites erudition, physical energy and workshop organization on an exceptional scale. The "Peter Paul Rubens" selection notably highlights looking at The Elevation of the Cross and The Descent from the Cross. His reading favors light.

Rubens circulates life throughout the canvas: the muscle carries the drama, the diagonal trains the gaze and the color gives the flesh its warmth.