Marie De' Medici Cycle - Rubens

Rubens

Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) was a highly influential artist in Northern Europe, widely believed to have played an important role in shaping the style and visual language of his time. The overseer or creator of more than three thousand woodcuts, engravings and paintings in various mediums, Rubens's works include historical, religious and allegorical paintings, altarpieces, portraits and landscapes. He is particularly known for his portrayal of human figures, lush and richly colored fabrics and well-developed themes often derived from both Christian and classical traditions. Rubens's studies of classical, Greek, and Latin texts influenced his career and set him apart from other painters during his time. Early in his career, Rubens studied under Flemish artists such as Otto van Veen, but his most notable influences come from the time he spent in Italy where he studied ancient sculpture and the works of Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio, Titian, and Veronese. It was during his time in Italy that he began to make copies of classical sculpture, such as the Laocoon, and collect drawings done by other artists. However, the artist was also an avid collector of both reproductions and original works, not only from the masters of the Italian Renaissance, but more predominantly from his contemporaries. Rubens owned more prints from his contemporary, Adriaen Brouwer, than any other of his Italian influences or his own contemporaries, although it is suggested that Rubens's compassion and concern for Brouwer's career may have been the influential cause for his collection of Brouwer's work. This record of visual history and the influences of his contemporaries, some who became lifelong friends of Rubens, would make an imprint on his art throughout his entire life.

When Rubens was commissioned to paint the Marie de' Medici cycle, he was quite possibly the most famous and skilled artist in Northern Europe, and was especially appreciated for his monumental religious works, commissioned by various councils and churches in the area. However, the Medici commission was welcomed by Rubens as an opportunity to apply his skills within a secular scene. The benefits of Marie de' Medici's commission continued throughout the rest of Rubens's career. Not only did he further establish and publicize his skill, but also the similarities that exist in his later works, such as stylistic components and themes, undeniably reflect the Medici series.