Arguably the greatest artist of the Baroque period, Peter Paul Rubens was an accomplished painter and draftsman, as well as a valued diplomat. This accessible examination of his life and work looks at every aspect of Rubens’s oeuvre; from his commissioned portraits of royalty and the nobility to his magnificent representations of ancient myths, Biblical stories, and historical events.

The incisive biography traces his life as a student in Venice, where he encountered the works of Titian and Tintoretto, the establishment of his studio in Antwerp, and the lucrative patronages of Marie de’ Medici and Phillip IV. Full-page reproductions of Rubens’s work communicate his energetic and dynamic style, along with his masterful use of color and sensuous depictions of the human body.