Peter Paul Rubens ( PE ter PAWL ROO bunz) was born in
Germany in 1577. His father died when Peter was 10 years old.
His mother returned to Antwerp, their home town with the three
children.
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When his older sister was ready to marry, their
mother spent money
to provide a dowry for his sister. It was a custom for the bride to
bring money to her husband when they married. The family didn't have
much money left and Peter Paul, now 13 years old, and his brother had
to go to work.
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His mother placed him as a page, a boy
servant, in the
home of a countess. He stayed there for awhile, but he wanted to be a
painter, so he was sent as an apprentice to a family member who was an
artist. Then he went on to work with other artists. He began to teach
art at the age of twenty-one.
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He married a young woman who was eighteen years
old,about half his age. Her name was Isabella.
The featured work on this page is a portrait he painted of the two of
them shortly after their marriage. They had three children and she died
after 17 years of marriage.
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Four years later, he was married to Helene Fourment, a
young woman only
sixteen years old. They had five children and he painted many portraits of her.
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In 1618 he painted A
Child's Head which is believed to be a portrait of his first
child, Clara Serena, who died at the age of twelve.
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His father's life had been filled with scandal and he
spent time
in prison. In contrast, Rubens was a devoted family man and led a
peaceful life.
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Sir Dudley Carlton, one of his admirers, described
Rubens as "prince of
painters and painter of princes" because he painted several members of
royal families.
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As an artist in the courts he could quietly observe
what was going on,
and he was asked to become a diplomat to help solve political problems.
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As he became more famous, he became richer and had a
large house in
Antwerp. He was a disciplined person. He got up at 4:00 A.M. and began
his work. He ate very little during the day and shared the main meal
with the family in the evening.
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In addition to painting pictures of people, he
sometimes painted
pictures of animals such as horses, cows, chickens, dogs, lions and
tigers. Once he even painted a picture which included a crocodile and a
hippopotamus!
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In his last years he began to paint landscapes, and he
loved the countryside around his home.
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As he grew older he developed arthritis in his right
hand, and it became difficult for him to paint.
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He died at the age of 63. He left his wife Helene, now
age 26, a rich widow with children.
Another daughter was born after his death. None of his children became
artists as he had hoped.
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Source: The World of Rubens 1577-1640 by C.V. Wedgwood
and the Editors of Time-Life Books
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