Rubens’s 1627 “Portrait of Ludovicus Nonnius” presents Antwerp’s scholar-physician with an open folio in hand, a bust of Hippocrates, and shelves of books, uniting classical authority, Baroque light, and humane psychology to celebrate the ideal of learned medicine.
A comprehensive reading of Rubens’s 1626 “Assumption of the Virgin,” tracing its upward vortex of figures, luminous Marian iconography, astonished apostles, and the Baroque interplay of color, light, and motion that turns doctrine into visual ascent.
Explore Rubens’s 1626 portrait of Isabella Brant—an intimate study of black velvet, pearls, lace, and a small devotional book—revealing how light, gesture, and subtle symbolism create a timeless image of dignity and warmth.
Rubens’s 1626 “Portrait of Isabella Brandt” presents the artist’s wife in a richly staged setting—crimson curtain, classical arcade, black mantle, and golden bodice—balancing intimacy and ceremony while showcasing luminous flesh, sumptuous textures, and the poised intelligence that anchored Rubens’s household.
A close reading of Rubens’s 1626 drawing “Nicolas Rubens,” exploring context, black-chalk technique, head construction, light and tone, the rhythm of line, and how paternal observation turns a modest study into an enduring Baroque masterpiece.
Explore Rubens’s 1626 masterpiece in which radiant allegories, straining bodies, and a staged architectural frame dramatize the triumph of Eucharistic truth over heresy through Baroque light, color, and kinetic composition.
Painted in 1625, Rubens’s “Portrait of a Chambermaid of Infanta Isabella” presents an anonymous lady-in-waiting with luminous realism: a monumental lace ruff, black velvet dress, and calm, intelligent gaze embody Spanish court decorum and Flemish warmth, revealing dignity within service.
Rubens’s 1626 “The Sacrifice of the Old Covenant” unites altar, Ark, priests, and people in a vivid temple pageant that prefigures the Eucharist, using architecture, light, color, and procession to translate Old Testament ritual into a Baroque theology of fulfillment.
An in-depth reading of Rubens’s 1625 masterpiece “The Triumph of the Church,” unpacking its Eucharistic iconography, kinetic composition, blazing color, and Counter-Reformation message of serene victory.
Rubens’s 1625 “The Judgment of Paris” turns the fateful myth into Baroque theatre—Paris weighs Minerva, Juno, and Venus amid glowing skies, lush drapery, and persuasive gestures—revealing how beauty, power, and wisdom compete to shape destiny and foreshadowing the Trojan War.
Explore Rubens’s 1625 allegory “The Happiness of the Regency,” where an enthroned ruler with scales of justice is encircled by Peace, Abundance, Fame, putti, and subdued vices—an opulent Baroque vision of prosperity, order, and good government.
An in-depth look at Rubens’s 1625 portrait of Isabella Clara Eugenia, exploring how austere costume, calibrated light, and measured brushwork create a commanding image of pious rulership in the Spanish Netherlands.
Rubens’s 1625 “Virgin and Child” places Mary and the Christ Child in a lush garden beside an illuminated devotional book and a still life of fruit, blending Venetian warmth with Flemish detail to celebrate maternal tenderness, learning, and the abundance of grace.
A richly detailed reading of Rubens’s 1625 state allegory, exploring the mounted regent, the descent of Victory, the trumpet of Fame, the tamed lion of Virtue, and the panoramic siege of Jülich to show how portrait, pageant, and landscape fuse into a triumphant image of just rule.
Explore Rubens’s 1625 portrait known as “The Straw Hat,” a luminous study of Susanna Lunden that blends fashion, felt-plumed hat, brilliant color, and intimate psychology into one of the Baroque era’s most unforgettable images.
Painted in 1625 for the Medici cycle, Rubens’s “The Meeting of Marie de’ Medici and Henry IV at Lyons” elevates a royal encounter into a celestial pageant with Jupiter and Juno, Hymen’s torches, lion-drawn chariots, and a panorama of Lyons, uniting myth, politics, and Baroque splendor to proclaim dynastic concord.
An in-depth study of Rubens’s 1625 “The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek,” exploring its architectural staging, gestures of blessing and tithe, Eucharistic symbolism, Baroque color and light, and the fusion of sacred history with courtly ceremony.
An in-depth study of Rubens’s 1625 Medici cycle painting, unpacking its choreography of diagonals, allegorical figures, radiant color, and political messaging as Marie de Medici lands at Marseilles amid gods, courtiers, and a living sea.