Rubens: The Power of Transformation

Even in his lifetime, Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) was renowned throughout Europe, and today he is justly celebrated as the greatest painter of the Flemish Baroque. This book draws on the large number of paintings from Rubens and his workshop owned by the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which include both exuberantly colored, multi-figured masterpieces—such as the huge altarpieces he produced for the Jesuit church at Antwerp—and intimate compositions like The Fur, Head of Medusa, or his late Self-Portrait. Those extensive holdings are augmented for this volume, which accompanies a major exhibition, by loans from numerous international institutions to offer a powerfully rich depiction of Rubens’s work in a wide range of media, including drawings, oil sketches, panel paintings, and large-scale canvases. In addition, the book features work by the painter’s contemporaries, enabling us to see how he was inspired by, and built on, the work of others, including Titian and Caravaggio. The result is perhaps the most complete account we’ve had of Rubens’s artistic achievement, a celebration of a true master.
 

Stefan Weppelmann is director of the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig, Germany.

Jochen Sander is the deputy director and head of collections for Dutch, Flemish, and German painting before 1800 at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt.