Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640) - Research Paper Example

Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640) Born in 1577, there is more to this master of painting than just his excellence in artwork and painting. In addition to his remarkable works of art, Peter Paul Rubens was also a linguist, who was fluent in several languages such as French, Italian, English, Dutch and German (Logan, Peter and Michiel, 21). He is declared as the most eminent Flemish painter and artist who ever existed. His contributions are not only identifiable in his paintings and artworks, but also in the works of his students, whom he gave refined training on artwork and painting. Although he learnt artwork under several reputable painters of the time, his artwork represented a refined brand, paving a new era in the European artistic field. His innovation in artwork made Antwerp the most popular destination of painting in the 17th century. He is notably credited with pioneering the Flemish Baroque style of painting (Rubens, Gilles and Chris, 7). This style involved use of exaggerated motion and color to depict movement in paintings and artwork, which easily produced the themes of drama, dance and music. His talents made him have more work than time could allow, making him amass immense wealth during his 30 years which he was involved in painting and artwork. However, the most interesting aspect of Peter Paul Rubens is that his talent grew with time and his expertise, refinement and abilities improved with time. Therefore, he maintained consistency in providing quality paintings, until he met his death in 1640. His accomplishments are notable to present day in different museums of Europe. His uniqueness is identifiable in the fact that; while most of the painters of his time specialized on one kind of painting, Peter Paul Rubens engaged in different types of paintings, all of which he perfected and generated quality works (Rubens, Gilles and Chris, 13). History painting is one of his styles, which involved the creation of biblical, historical and mythological objects. To portray the historical theme, he created paintings such as monumental historical scenes and biblical story painting representations, which resonated well with his movement and color themes that advanced visualization and movement. Religious paintings also formed a bulk of his artwork. He is credited with advancing the development of altarpiece paintings, which were religious paintings portraying a biblical theme that were placed in a flame and suspended behind the altar to pass a religious message (Logan, Peter and Michiel, 23). In creating his religious paintings, Peter Paul Rubens used the panel painting technique, which entails the incorporation of different painting themes in a panel that was subdivided several times, with each section of the panel possessing a different painting, but all advancing the same theme or telling the same story (Pauw-De Veen, 243). His altarpieces were either painted in front of the altar, where the priest could stand behind, or painted on a panel that was then suspended in front of the altar. Among the most popular of his religious paintings include the Descent from the Cross triptych, which was painted in the in Antwerp, Cathedral of the Lady (Pauw-De Veen, 248). Peter Paul Rubens is also an advent of the Counter-Reformation painting, which highly changed the paintings that were previously done during the renaissance and the thirteenth century (Rubens, Gilles and Chris, 18). This refers to the artwork that sought to turn back the religious paintings into more religious oriented, as opposed to the decoration oriented themes that were being advanced during the period. During this period, the Catholic Church perceived the Protestants as a major threat to its doctrines of faith. Therefore, they sought to enhance their religious theme through the application of artwork and paintings that reflected more religious themes. Thus, Rubens, being the most eminent painter of his time, was hired to revolutionize the renaissance painting into the counter-reformation artwork and painting (Logan, Peter and Michiel, 22). He was involved in the painting of pictures that were more direct and compelling, which formed the major theme of counter-reformation painting ideas. This mode of painting required that the artwork represent the actual biblical story, without forming any imaginary options to the artwork. Therefore, Reuben became the icon of preparing paintings that represented more sacred scenarios and gave a highly religious content, as opposed to the renaissance religious paintings, which sought to glorify God through representing more beautiful and exaggerated sceneries of God’s creation (Pauw-De Veen, 248). His paintings became very expressive and compelling; such that the sight of the picture was enough to touch even the hardest soul, and make it share in the suffering of Christ (Rubens, Gilles and Chris, 10). Therefore, Peter Paul Rubens charted a new path towards the establishment of more religious themes and content, as opposed to beauty and decoration. Notable of his style of painting is the forcefulness applied. Peter Paul Rubens applied compelling and forceful drawings, which directly touched on the subject of his focus. Therefore, as opposed to many paintings and artwork of his time, he established a system of delivering message through less detailed but forceful drawings (Logan, Peter and Michiel, 30). This meant that most of the components found in his drawings were necessary and vital to send a certain message. He departed from the world of decorating and beautifying artwork, to the world of communicating and passing messages in a more compelling manner (Pauw-De Veen, 245). He concentrated on preparing portraits, hunt scenes and landscapes, which always had some information to pass to the observer. To perfect his artwork and paintings, he initially applied oil sketching to give a clear representation of the painting to be developed (Logan, Peter and Michiel, 27). His work was characteristic of using a wooden medium to support his painting, even when the painting was large. This always gave his artwork a natural finishing touch, adding to his painting prowess. He also used canvas to prepare the paintings that were to be sent for long distances, and also used slate to paint altarpieces, to reduce the impact of reflection (Rubens, Gilles and Chris, 12). His artwork and painting, besides the ones painted for religious purposes were characterized by sensual figures of women which were whole, giving his paintings a touch of romance and attraction. He had established his own workshop, from where he painted some artwork by himself, painting others halfway or supervising his employees and students as they did the rest of the painting. He is credited with producing a brand of well refined painters, who succeeded him after his death. His major works include the Coronation of the Virgin, the Glorification of the Eucharist, The Virgin Adored by Saints, among many others. “The Virgin Adored by Saints” is a painting found in Antwerp’s Royal Museum of Fine Arts, which gives a representation of angels kneeling down and adoring the blessed virgin who holds Christ in her hand (Pauw-De Veen, 246). Many other saints are presented in the painting, paying homage to the blessed virgin and the child. This is part of the Counter-Reformation paintings that were prepared by Peter Paul Rubens, which sought to give a more direct and compelling religious message, depicting the blessed virgin as the ultimate queen in heaven, with the angels and the saints adoring her and Christ (Rubens, Gilles and Chris, 25).”The Glorification of the Eucharist” is also another great work of art prepared by Rubens. This artwork is an altarpiece sculpted on a frame, representing Christ who has risen already crushing the serpent, an indication that Christ have won over sin and death (Logan, Peter and Michiel, 24). It is a painting centered on the Eucharist, with various angels and saints appearing during the feast of the Blessed Sacrament. This is yet another of his painting that drives a forceful message relating to the Eucharist and the sacrament, with no decorative details, but just details of religion. This is a painting characteristic of his advancement in Counter-Reformation artwork. Briseis Given Back to Achilles This is an artwork by Peter Paul Rubens found in the Art Museum Image Consortium Library, representing one of the finest paintings and artwork creations he ever made. The painting, titled “Briseis Given Back to Achilles” started its creation in 1630, and was finished in 1631. As opposed to other paintings which he painted partially or supervised others to paint, this painting was his own creation (Logan, Peter and Michiel, 28). The object type of this work is a painting, which is prepared through a technique commonly referred to as the oil technique. The painting is prepared on an oak tree panel material, and given a wooden frame. The painting was prepared with maximum color accuracy and with a very exceptional resolution, which allows one to see all the details of the painting (Rubens, Gilles and Chris, 46). The oil technique applied to paint the picture involves a process of dropping millions of drops of ink on a surface, to give the background desired and to make the painting more visually appealing. This allows the observer to see all the details of the painting (Pauw-De Veen, 251). There is an application of a high level of transition gradient in colors, allowing the painting to give a smooth depiction of the painting’s details. This makes it possible for the painting to appear more realistic than just a mere painting. The surface on which the painting is made is very smooth, allowing the images of the painting to take real shapeand reverberate well with the color movement (Logan, Peter and Michiel, 33). The painting, “Briseis Given Back to Achilles” indicates people in a celebratory mood. It is a painting depicting a beautiful lady being handed over by one group of men to the other group, who are already adoring her arrival (Rubens, Gilles and Chris, 43). The painting applies mythology to indicate a story of a daughter who has been away from home and now she is being given back. The painting is telling a story of a Greek daughter by the name of Briseis, who is being given back after having been hidden in a foreign land for a period of time. The painting also applies allegory to tell a story of a comeback that is widely celebrated. Despite the fact that the painting is not a real moving object, it applies motion pictures that dramatize the comeback of a celebrated daughter, with the group receiving the lady very impressed by her arrival. The allegory tells of a daughter coming back from a far off country, as indicated by the animals such as horses on the background, which shows that the whole comeback entailed some distant traveling (Pauw-De Veen, 250). This artwork by Peter Paul Rubens captures the full imagination of the observer and tells the whole story, just through a single panel painting. This serves to indicate his prowess in delivering messages through artwork and painting, by a mere use of clear visual and motional pictures in the painting. The combination of colors and motion applied helps to dramatize the whole story. Works Cited Logan, Anne-Marie S, Peter P. Rubens, and Michiel C. Plomp. Peter Paul Rubens: The Drawings. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. Print. Pauw-De Veen, Lydia de. "Rubens and the graphic arts." The Connoisseur, 786 (1977): 243–251. Print. Rubens, Petrus P, Gilles Ne?ret, and Chris Miller. Peter Paul Rubens: 1577-1640 : the Homer of Painting. Ko?ln: Taschen, 2005. Print. Read More