About the Artist

Peter Paul Rubens (1577 Siegen-1640 Antwerp) studied with the painters Tobias Verhaecht, Adam van Noort and Otto van Veen. In 1598 he was asked to join the city's Guild of St. Luke's as a master. From 1600 to 1608 he visited Italy and became court painter to Vincenzo Gonzaga II, Duke of Mantua; he also visited Genoa, Venice, Florence and Rome. In 1608 he settled in Antwerp. The following year, he bacame court painter to Archduke Albrecht and Archduchess Isabella in Brussels, but continued to live in Antwerp. From 1628-1630 he traveled on diplomatic missions to the courts of England and Spain. Rubens is considered the most important Flemish painter of the Baroque era. His extensive oeuvre includes many paintings on religious and mythological subjects, monumental ceiling and picture cycles, portraits and landscapes. Major works by the artist include The Adoration of the Magi, 1624, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerp; The Assumption of the Virgin, 1625, Onze-Lieve-Vruowe-Kerk, Antwerp; and The Judgement of Paris, c. 1639 Museo del Prado, Madrid.