Baroque and Roll. Meet Sir Peter Paul Rubens, master painter and polymath

A painter of dramatic battles as much as erotic mythologies, Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a key figure in the 16th-century art world and a flag bearer for Baroque color, motion, and sensuality. His prolific oeuvre includes altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, historical paintings, as well as his famous, bountiful nudes.

There are over 1,000 catalogued works by Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), the 16th-century flag bearer for Baroque drama, movement, and sensuality. This essential introduction takes in the most important works from this astonishingly prolific oeuvre to explore Rubens’s influences and innovations, and his remarkable visual, and art historical, impact.

The richly illustrated survey takes in Rubens’s portraits, landscapes, and historical paintings, as well as his famed and bountiful nudes. Along the way, we examine the artist’s astonishing technique and his deft ability to depict narrative in a compelling and legible visual form, whether an erotic mythological scene or a tender biblical story. This remarkable artistic bravura is placed in context both within Rubens’s long art historical legacy through Van Dyck, Velázquez, and beyond, and his other talents as a classical scholar, diplomat, and knight.

The author:

Gilles Néret (1933–2005) was an art historian, journalist, writer, and museum correspondent. He organized several art retrospectives in Japan and founded the SEIBU Museum and the Wildenstein Gallery in Tokyo. He directed art reviews such as L'Œil and Connaissance des Arts and received the Élie Faure Prize in 1981 for his publications. His TASCHEN titles include Salvador Dalí: The Paintings, Matisse, and Erotica Universalis.

About the series:

Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. 

Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art series features:
- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

Celebrate the life and work of Peter Paul Rubens with this informative introduction to the Flemish artist

Arguably the greatest artist of the Baroque period, Peter Paul Rubens was an accomplished painter and draughtsman, as well as a valued diplomat. This accessible examination of his life and work looks at every aspect of Rubens's oeuvre; from his commissioned portraits of royalty and the nobility to his magnificent representations of ancient myths, Biblical stories, and historical events. This incisive biography traces his life as a student in Venice, where he encountered the works of Titian and Tintoretto, the establishment of his studio in Antwerp, and the lucrative patronages of Marie de Medici and Phillip IV. Full-page reproductions of Rubens's work communicate his energetic and dynamic style, along with his masterful use of color and sensuous depictions of the human body.

About the Author:

Michael Robinson is a freelance lecturer and writer on art and design history having gained a Master's degree at Kingston University, where he spent many years as a lecturer. He is also a Blue Badge tourist guide and can often be found in Museums and galleries sharing his passions for art.