Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640) was a Flemish painter who was the greatest exponent of Flemish Baroque painting’s dynamism, vitality, and sensuous exuberance.He began his artistic apprenticeship at age fourteen and completed his education in 1598 when he became an independent master painter.Though his masterpieces include portraits and landscapes, Rubens is perhaps best known for his religious and mythological compositions.As the impresario of vast decorative programs, he presided over the most famous painter’s studio in Europe.His powers of invention were matched by extraordinary energy and versatility.During Rubens’s eight years (1600-08) as court painter to the duke of Mantua, he assimilated the lessons of the other Italian Renaissance masters and made a journey to Spain that had a profound impact on the development of Spanish baroque art.By completing the fusion of the realistic tradition of Flemish painting with the imaginative freedom and classical themes of Italian Renaissance painting, Rubens fundamentally revitalized and redirected northern European painting.More of Peter Paul Rubens’ masterpieces can be found at https://www.peterpaulrubens.net/.