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Historical and Artist Information.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens.

1577 - 1640

Flemish

- This language is spoken by people mainly in belgium and some areas in france

 

- Flemish is a West Germanic language most closely related to Dutch and generally regarded as the Belgian variant of Dutch. (Bbc.co.uk, 2014)

- Many of the words are also used in the french language

- Uses the latin alphabet

Son of a lawyer

Education- Jesuit school

1600-1608 Worked/studied in italy

His repeated visits to Madrid, Paris, and London allowed him to negotiate treaties while accepting royal commissions for art. (Nga.gov, 2014)

Travelling

One of Rubens' major innovations in procedure, which many later artists have followed, was his use of small oil studies as compositional sketches for his large pictures and tapestry designs. Rather than merely drawing, Rubens painted his modelli, or models, thereby establishing the color and lighting schemes and the distributions of shapes simultaneously. (Nga.gov, 2014)

Rubens's style combined a knowledge of Renaissance classicism with lush brushwork and a lively realism.(Bio, 2014)

His work

He was appointed court painter to Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella, who governed the Southern Netherlands on behalf of Spain. (Bio, 2014)

In a time of social and economic recovery after war, Antwerp's affluent merchants were building their private art collections and local churches were being refurbished with new art. Rubens received a prestigious commission to paint two large religious works, "The Raising of the Cross" and "The Descent from the Cross," for Antwerp Cathedral between 1610 and 1614. (Bio, 2014)

He produced a tapestry cycle for Louis XIII of France (1622-25), a series of 21 large canvases glorifying the life and reign of Marie de Medici of France (1622-25) and the allegorical "Peace and War" for Charles I of England (1629-30). (Bio, 2014)

He was known as "The Prince of Painters and the Painter of Princes"

Works of Peter Paul Rubens'.

The Raising of the cross.

Painted in 1610-1611.

Figure 19.0

Figure 19.1

Figure 19.2

Minerva protects Pax from Mars ('Peace and War').

Painted 1629-1630

Figure 19.3

 

Portrait of Ludovicus Nonnius

Painted in 1627

Mar 2nd - English King Charles I dissolves Parliament against opposition, imprisoning 9 members of parliament


Mar 10th - King Charles I dissolved Parliament; he recalled it 11 years later


Mar 24th - 1st game law passed in American colonies, by Virginia


Apr 14th - England & France sign Peace of Susa


Apr 17th - 1st commercial fishery established


May 3rd - French huguenot leader duke De Rohan signs accord with Spain


May 22nd - Emperor Ferdinand II & Danish King Christian IV sign Peace of Lubeck


Jun 18th - Sea battle at Dungeness: Piet Heyn beat the Dunkirkers, commerce raiders in the service of the Spanish Monarchy


Jun 28th - Peace of Ales: Rights of French huguenots limited


Jul 10th - 1st non-Separatist Congregational Church in US founded (Salem, MA)


Aug 26th - Cambridge Agreement, Massachusetts Bay Company stockholders agree to emigrate


King Charles ISep 14th - Spanish garrison surrenders to prince Frederik Henry


Sep 24th - Jacques Specx appointed governor-general of Dutch-Indies


Sep 26th - Sweden & Poland signs Peace of Altmark


Oct 13th - Dutch West Indies Co grants religious freedom in West Indies


Oct 30th - King Charles I gives Bahamas to Sir Robert Heath


Nov 3rd - Prince Frederik Hendrik festival in The Hague

 

(History Orb, 2014)

Events of 1629.

Monarchy in 1629.

The Stuarts.

Controversy and disputes dogged Charles throughout his reign. They eventually led to civil wars, first with the Scots from 1637 and later in England (1642-46 and 1648). The wars deeply divided people at the time, and historians still disagree about the real causes of the conflict, but it is clear that Charles was not a successful ruler.Charles was reserved (he had a residual stammer), self-righteous and had a high concept of royal authority, believing in the divine right of kings. (The offical website of The British Monarchy, n.d.)

 

He spent a lot on the arts, inviting the artists Van Dyck and Rubens to work in England, and buying a great collection of paintings by Raphael and Titian (this collection was later dispersed under Cromwell). (The offical website of The British Monarchy, n.d.)

 

The fact he invited Rubens to come and work to create painting for him show sthe level and standard of his work and how well thought of he was.

The Stuarts were the first kings of the United Kingdom. King James I of England who began the period was also King James VI of Scotland, thus combining the two thrones for the first time. The Stuart dynasty reigned in England and Scotland from 1603 to 1714, a period which saw a flourishing Court culture but also much upheaval and instability, of plague, fire and war. 

It was an age of intense religious debate and radical politics. Both contributed to a bloody civil war in the mid-seventeenth century between Crown and Parliament (the Cavaliers and the Roundheads), resulting in a parliamentary victory for Oliver Cromwell and the dramatic execution of King Charles I. (The offical website of The British Monarchy, n.d.)

Figure 19.4

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