Paintings by Rubens with titles. Peter Paul Rubens: the most famous works

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Peter Paul Rubens is rightfully considered one of the greatest Flemish artists of the 17th century. His paintings are kept in the best galleries in the world, and many of the painter's works are visually known even to those who have never heard his name. The most famous paintings by Rubens with names and descriptions are presented later in this article.

Short biography of the artist

Peter Paul Rubens was born on June 28, 1577 in Siegen (Germany), into a we althy and famous family of artisans and merchants. When the future artist was 8 years old, the Rubens family moved to Cologne (Germany), where the young man studied the humanities, first at a Jesuit school, and then at a rich secular school, studied the Greek language and showed phenomenal memory abilities. At the age of 13, thanks to family ties, Peter Paul was placed as a page to the Belgian Countess de Lalene. But the young man did not want to be a courtier, and a year later he began to study painting. His first known mentor was the artist Otto van Veen.

In the early 1600s, an aspiring artist traveled through Italy and Spain,where he was very much inspired by the school of the old masters. Paintings by Rubens with the titles "Self-portrait in the circle of Veronese friends", "The Entombment", "Hercules and Omphala", "Heraclitus and Democritus" were written during this period. He made many copies of famous paintings by Italian and Spanish artists such as Raphael and Titian.

After a journey that lasted more than 8 years, Peter Paul Rubens arrived in the Belgian city of Antwerp, and already in 1610, in Brussels, he received the title of court painter from Duke Albrecht. Many paintings by Rubens with titles containing the names of the duke himself and his wife Isabella Clara Eugenia appeared at that time, as the ruling couple did not want to part with the artist - their influence greatly contributed to the creative success and recognition of Rubens. But he still did not want to stay in Brussels, returned to Antwerp and married Isabella Brant, who became his favorite model and mother of three children. In 1611, the artist acquired a huge workshop house for himself and his family, and from that moment a particularly fruitful period of his work began. Nothing constrained the artist - he was provided with money and time, and also received enough skills for free creativity.

For all the time of his artistic work, Peter Paul Rubens painted more than 3,000 paintings, many of which influenced the work of subsequent generations of artists. He was not an innovator, but he honed the classic Flemish style to an incredible level of liveliness.and beauty.

In the 20s of the 17th century, Rubens also mastered a diplomatic career. This was facilitated by fruitful work at the court of Maria Medici. Now the artist regularly visited England and France on political issues.

In 1626 Rubens' 34-year-old wife died of the plague. After this shock, he left painting for a while and delved into political and diplomatic activities. Now his missions have spread to Denmark and Spain, but the difficult political situation and the expulsion of the Medici caused dislike for Rubens from other diplomats, once they directly stated that they "did not need artists." He still tried to make political connections, but finally left this area in 1635.

But in the midst of diplomatic activity, in 1630, the artist again seriously took up his brushes and decided to marry again - the 16-year-old merchant's daughter Elena Fourman became the chosen one of 53-year-old Rubens. From that moment on, she became the main model and inspiration for the artist, he painted many portraits from her, and also used her to depict mythical and biblical heroines. Elena bore Rubens five children, but he only had a chance to live with her for ten years. The artist died of gout on May 30, 1640.

Self-portraits

Portraits of Peter Paul Rubens, which he painted himself, exceed the number of self-portraits of any of the artists before him. And after that, only Rembrandt could compare with him in this. Rubens loved both classical self-portraits and endowing his ownthe face of some hero of the plot picture. The first such work was "Self-portrait in the circle of Verona friends", written in 1606 in Italy. It is interesting that on the canvas the author's face differs from the faces of his friends - it is as if illuminated by an invisible source and the only one looking directly at the viewer.

And the most famous self-portrait can be considered written in 1623 - almost no biography of Rubens can do without this painting, a reproduction of which is presented above. Another famous portrait is the "Four Philosophers" of 1611, which will be discussed in more detail later. The last self-portrait of the artist was a painting painted a year before his death, in 1639. Its fragment is presented in the sub title "Brief biography of the artist". And here are a few more paintings in which the portrait of the author appears:

• "Self-portrait with Isabella Brant" (1610).
• "Self-portrait" (1618).
• "Self-portrait with son Albert" (1620s).
• "Self-portrait" (1628).
• "Garden of Love" (1630th).
• "Self-portrait with Helena Fourman" (1631).
• "Rubens, his wife Helena Fourman and their son" (late 1630s).

The Last Judgment

Un titled "The Last Judgment" Rubens has two paintings, and both are in the Munich gallery "Alte Pinakothek". The first of them, a fragment of which is presented above, was written in 1617. She's doneoil on a wooden panel measuring 606 by 460 cm, so the second picture, whose size is 183 by 119 cm, is often called the "Little Last Judgment". Most of the canvas is occupied by ordinary mortals, literally scattered in different directions by the power of Christ descended to them. Some of them are dressed, some are naked, but on all faces there is horror and despair, and some are completely dragged away by demonic creatures. God in the form of Jesus Christ is depicted at the very top of the picture in the center, light emanates from him, instead of clothes there is a bright red cloth, and behind him are either saints or the dead who have already gone to heaven. On the sides of Jesus are the Virgin Mary and Moses with holy tablets in their hands.

In the second picture, which Rubens painted in 1620, one can see as if a continuation or variation of the first canvas. Despite the smaller size, the canvas is more elongated, God is again at the very top, but now the image of hell has also appeared. Sinners pour into the abyss, where they are met by joyful devils, and angels with trumpets do not allow people to climb up, defending themselves with shields.

Altar triptychs

For Rubens, altar work became one of the main types of artistic activity in the period from 1610 to 1620. They are called altar ones because the artist wrote them mainly to decorate the church, and some even right in the church, in order to correctly catch the fall of light in the place where the canvas would be. During this time, Rubens created seven paintings with a crucifix, five - showing the moment of removal fromcross and three with his ex altation, as well as many other images of Christ, saints and biblical scenes. But the most famous among them are the triptychs that are in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Antwerp. The triptych "Ex altation of the Cross of the Lord", a fragment of which can be seen in the main photo of this article, was created by the artist in 1610 for the altar of the old church of St. Volburg, and the paintings got to their present place in 1816. The triptych "Descent from the Cross" (can be seen above) was created specifically for the Cathedral, in which it is located to this day, from 1612 to 1614. Many call this monumental painting the best work of Rubens, as well as one of the best paintings of the Baroque era in general.

Union of land and water

Painting by Rubens "Union of Earth and Water", written in 1618, is in the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg). The canvas depicting the Earth goddess Cybele, the sea gods Neptune and Triton, as well as the goddess Victoria, has several meanings at once. Neptune and Cybele enter into an alliance, tenderly holding hands and looking at each other, they are crowned by Victoria, and Neptune's son Triton, rising from the depths of the sea, blows into the shell. First of all, the plot embodies the divine connection between the feminine and the masculine, since for the artist a full naked woman has always been a symbol of the earthly, fertile, natural. But personally for Rubens, the "Union of Earth and Water" was also a hint at the difficult situation of the Flemings, deprived of access to the sea during the periodDutch blockade. The simplest interpretation can be considered the mythological unity of the two elements, leading to world harmony. Since the canvas, being in the Hermitage, was considered property, in 1977 postage stamps with this picture were issued in the USSR.

The Three Graces

Another of the artist's most famous paintings was painted in the last year of his life - 1639. The canvas with the elegant name "Three Graces" is kept in the Spanish Prado Museum. On it, in the artist's favorite manner, in some paradise, three naked plump women are depicted, personifying the ancient Roman graces - the goddesses of fun and joy. In ancient Greece, these goddesses were called Charites. They swirl smoothly in a dance, embracing and looking at each other, apparently in a pleasant conversation. Despite the identical figures, the image of which in Rubens always included exceptionally smooth, rounded lines without a single angle, he made a difference between women in hair color. A light blonde stands in the light part of the landscape against the sky, a brown-haired woman, on the contrary, is depicted against the background of trees, and between them, at the turn of light and darkness, a red-haired goddess harmoniously emerged.

Two satires

Painting by Rubens "Two satyrs" continues the theme of mythological creatures. It was written in 1619 and is also currently in the Munich Alte Pinakothek. Unlike most of the artist's monumental works, this canvas has a relatively smallthe format is only 76 x 66 cm. In ancient Greek mythology, satellites of Dionysus, the god of winemaking, cheerful forest demons with goat legs and horns, were called satyrs. It is known that satyrs were not too lazy to do only two things - debauchery with nymphs and drinking wine. Rubens depicted two opposite types of satyrs - the one in the background clearly prefers alcohol. His lean face and excess flowing down the glass testify to this. In the foreground, a voluptuary is clearly depicted - a lustful look and a grin literally pierce the viewer, and a bunch of grapes gently squeezed in his hand will make even the most sophisticated viewer feel embarrassed.

Perseus frees Andromeda

Fragments of three paintings can be seen above. The first belongs to the brush of Lambert Sustris - "Perseus frees Andromeda." It was written in the middle of the 16th century. It was this work that inspired Rubens to create his first canvas of the same name in 1620. Having changed the somewhat flat medieval style of Sustris, the artist reproduced the poses of the heroes and the general mythological plot almost verbatim (second fragment). This painting is kept in the Berlin Art Gallery.

Two years later, Rubens again turned to the story of Perseus and Andromeda and painted another painting with the same name (third fragment). Despite the slight difference, here the characteristic style of the artist is already revealed to a greater extent - the goddess of victory Nike again crowns the heads of the characters, andsmall cupids flutter around. Despite the fact that Perseus is an ancient Greek hero, he is dressed in the costume of a Roman warrior. Like "The Union of Earth and Water", this painting belongs to the collection of the State Hermitage.

Venus in front of a mirror

In his painting of 1615 "Venus in front of a mirror" Rubens to some extent repeats the plot created earlier by Titian, in which a half-naked Venus looks into a mirror held by cupid. However, the black servant present next to Venus of Rubens suggests that his Venus is not a goddess at all, but an earthly woman prone to divine narcissism. According to his custom, the artist again depicted a puffy white-skinned woman without clothes, but with gold jewelry and a thin, translucent canvas at her feet. The maid is either combing or simply sorting through the beautiful golden hair of her mistress. The painting is currently kept in the Liechtenstein Collection Museum in Vienna.

The Four Philosophers

In the painting of 1611 "Four Philosophers" Rubens, in addition to himself, portrayed his beloved brother Philip, who died this year, the learned philosopher Justus Lipsius and his student Jan Voverius. Also on the canvas was Pug - the beloved dog Lipsia, who bowed his head on Voverius' lap. There is no special plot background in the picture: like "Self-Portrait with Verona Friends", written on the occasion of the death of Lipsius in 1606, the picture is a dedication to loved onesRubens' people and the time he managed to spend with them. You can see the painting in the Florentine Palazzo Pitti.

Hunting for lions

From 1610 to 1620 the artist was passionate about writing hunting scenes. Having achieved great skill in depicting the human body, he wanted to combine it with the demonstration of the bodies of large animals that was just being mastered. One of the most famous paintings on this subject by Rubens is "The Hunt for Lions", written in 1621. The opposition of human weapons and the forces of wild animals is vividly shown in the bold confrontation of two muscular lions against seven hunters, half of whom attack on horseback. One of the lions is ready to tear the hunter with a dagger down to the ground, the other pulled the hunter off the horse with his teeth, clutching the body of the animal with his claws. Despite the fact that this lion is stabbed with three spears at once, he is angry and does not retreat, and only the sword of one of the hunters gives hope to defeat the angry beast. One of the hunters lies unconscious with a knife clutched in his hand. Particularly interesting in this picture is the fact that Eastern and European characters were hunting together - this becomes clear from their clothes and weapons. The painting is currently kept in Munich's Alte Pinakothek.

Portraits of lovers

A fairly large collection of paintings by Rubens with titles containing the name of his first wife Isabella Brant. As a rule, these are either her personalportraits, or joint self-portraits of the couple. On the selection of reproductions above you can see:

• "Portrait of Lady Isabella Brant" (late 1620s).
• "Portrait of Isabella Brant" (1610).
• "Portrait of Isabella Brant" (1625).
• "Self-portrait with Isabella Brant" (1610).

The last painting is considered one of the artist's finest portraits. He and his young wife are depicted incredibly vividly, as if in a photograph - it's hard to believe that the characters are not captured momentarily. One of the most beautiful details of this canvas can be called the hands of lovers and their gentle touch, conveying love and interaction better than if the characters simply looked at each other. Currently, the painting is also stored in the Munich Alte Pinakothek.

The portraits of Helena Fourman, which can be seen above, became the main subject of Rubens' painting in the last years of his life. Fragments of the following canvases are presented:

• "Helena Fourman and Frans Rubens" (1639).
• "Portrait of Helen Fourman" (1632).
• "Fur coat" (1638).
• "Helen Fourman in a wedding dress" (1631st).
• "Portrait of Helena Fourman, second wife of the artist" (1630).
• "Rubens with his wife Helena Fourman and their son" (1638).

But the most famous portrait of Helen Fourman is by herhusband is considered to be written in 1630, the reproduction of which is presented above. It depicts a 16-year-old young wife in a magnificent traveling outfit, a beautiful Dutch-style velvet hat and two delicate rose flowers pressed to her stomach. It is believed that during this period, the second wife of Rubens was already pregnant, and this is what the flowers at the stomach represent. The painting is in the Mauritshuis Royal Art Gallery in The Hague.