Rubens: A Double Life

When Peter Paul Rubens died in 1640 he left an indestructible reputation as one of the world’s great painters. His prolific output included some 1,300 paintings (compare this with Leonardo’s 20 and Vermeer’s 36) as well as books of engravings, architectural drawings, and sketches. He also left a beautiful young wife, a vast personal fortune, a palatial house in Antwerp, and collections of old masters, antiquities, and precious stones. Largely forgotten now is Rubens’s reputation as an accomplished diplomat who played no small part in ending the Thirty Years’ War and was knighted by both Spain and England. Marie-Anne Lescourret has captured Rubens’s enormous life in a vivid portrait which encompasses the turbulent history of his times. Without neglecting his paintings, she gives the reader a fascinating picture of war-torn Europe, court intrigue, and the interchanges between the painters, scientists, diplomats, churchmen, and political leaders of the age. Rubens is a painter whom everyone acknowledges as great but few people have understood. This illuminating, rounded biography offers an unmatched perspective on the man and his work. With 8 pages of illustrations.