Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish Baroque painter active in the early 1600s who combined elements of northern European and Italian artistic styles. He was highly prolific and influential, producing over 2,000 paintings in his career. Rubens received many commissions from European royalty to glorify their lives and rule. One such commission was a series of 21 paintings from 1622-1626 memorializing the life of Marie de' Medici. Rubens used allegorical figures, decorative splendor, and mythical imagery to bring a sense of grandeur to Marie's story. His combining of northern realism and Italian theatricality came to define the Flemish Baroque style.

1. The Baroque (2)
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2. Spanish Netherlands:
Flemish painting under Spanish control
(Modern Belgium-Flemish Baroque)
• Phillip II “Most Catholic King”
of Spain repressive towards
Protestants
• Netherlands splits between
north (Protestant) and South-
(Catholic)
• North is independent
• South is ruled by Spanish
Empire

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7. Peter Paul Rubens
• Educated, looks, well-traveled, happy
• ENERGY – his life and art
– Rose at 4am and worked until midnight
– Great work ethic, over 2,000 paintings
• Influenced by Michelangelo and Caravaggio
• Unified the styles of northern and southern Europe
– Became synonymous with Flemish Baroque
• Confident of Kings and Queens, dispatched on
several diplomatic missions
Created thousands of sketches in his travels
of famous artwork to study and use
• Built a house with a large studio that allowed his
workshop and assistants to crank out hundreds of
works
• Price of work was equivalent to how much he actually
painted

8. Peter Paul Rubens
“Rubenesque”
Applied to a woman who has similar
proportions to those in paintings by the
Flemish painter Peter Paul Ruben;
attractively plump; a woman who is
alluring or pretty but without the waif-like
body or athletic build presently common
in media.
"Our waitress is really hot, even if she
has a few extra pounds on her, but it
doesn't matter because I like my women
rubenesque anyway."

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PETER PAUL RUBENS, Elevation of the Cross, from Saint Walburga, Antwerp, 1610. Oil on wood, 15’ 1
7/8” x 11’ 1 1/2” (center panel), 15' 1 7/8" x 4' 11" (each wing). Antwerp Cathedral, Antwerp.

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12. PETER PAUL RUBENS, Elevation of
the Cross
• Commissioned for the church of Saint
Walburga in Antwerp
• Influence of Michelangelo and Caravaggio
evident
• Foreshortened anatomy and contortions
of violent action
• Christ body cuts dynamically across
picture plane
• Figures resonate with power of strenuous
exertion
• Emotional and physical tension
• Movement-pushes out of the picture plane
(Baroque)
• Theatricality and emotionalism
characteristic of Italian Baroque
• Attention to detail represents the Northern
Influence
• Rubens combines the two to form an
international synthesis
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26. Peter Paul Rubens, The
Presentation of the Portrait of
Marie de’ Medici, c. 1622-1625, oil
on canvas, 394 x 295 cm (Musée
du Louvre)

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PETER PAUL RUBENS, Arrival of Marie
de’ Medici at Marseilles, 1622–1625. Oil
on canvas, 12’ 11 1/2” x 9’ 7”. Louvre,
Paris.

30. PETER PAUL RUBENS, Arrival of
Marie de’ Medici at Marseilles
• Marriage of French king Henry IV
and italian Marei de’Medici
• Painted a series of 21 paintings
(1622-26) to memorialize and glorify
her life
• Her life was not very interesting, so
Rubens added Mythical figures to
give it a sense of grandeur and
importance
• Over the top-huge ego
• Personification of France greets
Marie
• Sea and sky rejoice at arrival
• Neptune and the Nereids salute her
• Decorative splendor holds
composition together
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34. Also includes events that were both
quite recent and quite humiliating.
After Henry was assassinated in
1610, Marie—acting as regent for
their young son, Louis XIII—ruled
the kingdom of France for seven
years.
The position suited her; but many
French nobles begrudged her
power. Divisions in the court,
including tensions with her own
son, led to Marie’s exile from the
Paris in 1617.
The commission of the biographical
cycle marked her reconciliation with
Louis and her return to the capital
city in 1620. It vindicated her reign
as the queen of France.
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PETER PAUL RUBENS, Consequences of War, 1638–1639. Oil on canvas, 6’ 9” x 11’ 3 7/8”. Palazzo Pitti,
Florence..

36. PETER PAUL RUBENS,
Consequences of War
• Rubens worked for many nations
so could not comment on conflict
in direct way(use of allegorical
figures)
• Door to temple of Janus is open
(symbol to War)
• Venus attempts to prevent Mars
from going to battle.
• Figure of Europe in black throws
her arms up.
• Fury Alekto drags Mars forward,
sword drawn, to trample the arts
and music, symbols of family and
fecundity. Monsters of Pestilence
and Famine lurk in the back.
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37. The Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of
the Netherlands
North Region (Modern
Holland)
Late 16th Century:
Independence from Spain
Protestant
1609 Bank of Amsterdam
Political power: urban
merchants
Prosperous: wealthiest
region of Europe
Moralistic
No King (no feudal land
rights)

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39. Arbitrage
The practice of taking advantage of
a price difference between two or
more markets: striking a
combination of matching deals that
capitalize upon the imbalance, the
profit being the difference between
the market prices. In simple terms,
it is the possibility of a risk-free
profit at zero cost.
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“Speculative Bubble”

42. The Golden Age of
Dutch Art
• The Dutch Republic was based on
commerce and trade; merchant class
held power, wealth
• No royal court and officials and
lacking Catholic church commissions,
artists turned to merchant class for
work
• Portraiture rose in popularity as did
works showing their possessions and
land
• Merchant patrons
• Realism, Genre Scenes, still life,
Little religious art
• Moralizing
• Landscapes that showed work ethic
• Bourgeoisie portraits showed status
without being ostentatious

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HENDRICK TER BRUGGHEN, Calling of Saint Matthew, 1621. Oil on canvas, 3’ 4” x 4’ 6”. The Hague.

45. HENDRICK TER
BRUGGHEN, Calling of
Saint Matthew
• Selected them from Caravaggio
• Softer tints, compressed space,
much more intimate effect
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46. Frans Hals
Brilliant portrait painter
Different from Leonardo, Holbein, or
Durer’s portraits of exactness
Quick brushstrokes capture the
momentary smile and twinkle of an eye
Actually took a lot of time to capture
spontaneity
Broke conventional ways of depiction
Pose, setting, attire, accessories
Typical conventions did not apply to
middle class portraiture
Hals produced lively and relaxed images
Excelled at group portraits

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FRANS HALS, Archers of Saint Hadrian, ca. 1633. Oil on canvas, approx. 6’ 9” x 11’. Frans Halsmuseum,
Haarlem.

49. FRANS HALS, Archers of Saint
Hadrian
• Popular group portraits reflect
participation in Dutch civic
organizations
• Each member paid a fee
• Dutch Civic Militia groups claim
credit for liberation from Spain
• Hals enlivens the troop,
movements and moods vary
markedly
• Spontaneity of gesture despite
uniformity of attire
• Preservation of gesture and
fleeting facial expressions
evidence of careful planning but
does not immediately appear so
because of Hals vivacious
brushwork
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GERRIT VAN HONTHORST, Supper Party, 1620. Oil on canvas, 4’ 8” x 7’. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

53. GERRIT VAN HONTHORST,
Supper Party
• Genre Scene
• Informal gathering of un-
idealized figures
• Inspired by Caravaggio’s use of
light but adding his own ideas
• Lighthearted but Can be read in
a moralistic way- could be
warning against the sins of
gluttony and lust
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54. Rembrandt
Born in Lieden, moved to Amsterdam,
the financial center of Europe
Became the cities most-renowned
portrait artist
Delved deeply into the psyche and
personality of his sitters
Long career (40 years)
Without the Catholic Church in Holland
to commission art, Rembrandt and his
fellow Dutch artists were lavishly
supported by a wealthy, Protestant,
and expanding middle class. This
group of patrons enthusiastically
commissioned works of art with their
increasing discretionary income-
mostly portraits.

55. Rembrandt
He deviated even more from the
traditional group portrait than Hals
Sitters not placed evenly across the
picture plane
Use of light is a key element
Gradual transitions, no sharp edges
Fine nuances of lights and darks
Uses for psychological effect

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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp, 1632. Oil on canvas, 5’ 3 3/4” x 7’ 1 1/4”.
Mauritshuis, The Hague.

59. REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Anatomy
Lesson of Dr. Tulp,
• Rembrandt age 26
• Deviates from traditional group
portraiture.
• Poses and expressions suggest
varying degrees of intensity.
• “spotlight” on each person- inner
light of the individual as opposed to
outer light of the divine.
• Doctor is only person wearing a hat
(signifies importance)
• The cadaver—a recently executed
thief named Adriaen Adriaenszoon
• In actuality Dr. Tulp would be
lecturing to larger audience while
assistant dissected.
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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp, 1632. Oil on canvas, 5’ 3 3/4” x 7’ 1 1/4”.
Mauritshuis, The Hague.

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67. Surgeons hand
Artists Hand
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68. Dead bodies usually Christ
Northern Baroque- science
replaces the spiritual
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70. The Catholic tenant of resurrection
necessitated that dead bodies be
interned in a state of wholeness,
and this fact explains why Leonardo
was forced to dissect human bodies
in secret.
In Protestant Holland but 113 years
after Leonardo’s death, however,
human dissections were not only
common practice, they were often
public spectacles, complete with
food and wine, music and
conversation.
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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, The Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq (Night Watch), 1642. Oil on
canvas (cropped from original size), 11’ 11” x 14’ 4”. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

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74. REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, The
Company of Captain Frans Banning
Cocq (Night Watch),
• Actually a day scene (has
darkened considerably)
• Light used in a masterful way
• One of many civic-guard portraits-
one of 6 paintings commissioned
for the banquet hall of
Amsterdam’s Musketeers Hall
• Painting trimmed on all sides in
1715
• Captures excitement and frenetic
energy rather than dull staid poses
• 3 important stages of loading and
firing a musket
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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, The Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq (Night Watch), 1642. Oil on
canvas (cropped from original size), 11’ 11” x 14’ 4”. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Return of the
Prodigal Son, ca. 1665. Oil on canvas,
approx. 8’ 8” x 6’ 9”. Hermitage
Museum, Saint Petersburg.

92. • Rembrandt interested in probing
the states of the soul
• Psychological insight, sympathy
for human affliction
• Light directs attention
• Religious Protestant art vs.
Religious Catholic art
• Piety vs. emotional drama
• Human contemplation vs.
theology
• Humanity of Jesus vs.
triumph of the church

93. Bathsheeba
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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Self-
Portrait, ca. 1659–1660. Oil on
canvas, approx. 3’ 8 3/4” x 3’ 1”.
Kenwood House, London (Iveagh
Bequest).

105. REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Self-Portrait, 1658. Oil on canvas, 4’ 4 5/8” X 3’ 4 7/8”. Frick Collection, New York.
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