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Sir Peter Paul Rubens
(German, 1577 — 1640)
Statue of Ceres (1615)
Inventory Number: 504
Oil on canvas.
25 x 34.5 inches (63.5 x 87.5 cm)
Born in Germany and educated in Antwerp, Rubens was intended for the law, but began to study art, travelling to Venice in 1600. He entered the service of the Duke of Mantua, and was sent to Spain as a diplomat (1605). There he executed many portraits and works on historical subjects. He then traveled in Italy, producing work much influenced by the Italian Renaissance. He became a prolific and renowned painter, and in 1622 was invited to France by Marie de Medici, for whom he painted 21 large subjects on her life and regency (Louvre). He was sent on a diplomatic mission to Philip IV of Spain (1628), and there executed some 40 works. The following year he became envoy to Charles I of England, where his paintings included "Peace and War" (National Gallery, London). He was knighted by both Charles I and Philip IV. In 1630 he retired and engaged in landscape painting.
Size can be commissioned smaller or larger.
Collection of the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.