Peter Paul Rubens

b. 1577 Siegen, Westphalia; d.1640

Rubens' family originated in Antwerp and moved back to that city from Germany in 1589.

He studied in various studios in Antwerp until, in 1598, he entered the Guild there. Two years later he travelled to Italy where he became court painter to the Duke of Mantua. In 1603 he was a member of a diplomatic mission which journeyed to the Spanish court of Philip III in Madrid. There he was able to see the Royal Collection replete with Titians and other high renaissance masterpieces. On his return to Italy, he worked in Genoa, Milan and Rome. Whilst in Rome he received news from the Netherlands of his mother's ill health.

© Historybookshop.com