Peter Paul Rubens: Loves in Art and Matrimony

Paintings of Rubens’s beloved wife Isabella and, later, Helena, are among the artist’s most intimate works.

A detail from the painting of Rubens and his second wife in a garden, circa 1640, by Peter Paul Rubens. Oil on panel. Alte Pinakothek , Munich, Germany. Public Domain

Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) was the consummate polymath: an erudite diplomat who spoke six languages fluently, an astute and successful entrepreneur, and one of the greatest artists of the Baroque movement. The variety of his oeuvre is astounding. Helming a large studio, his output included altarpieces, portraits, history paintings, landscapes, drawings, large-scale decorative schemes for interiors, tapestry designs, and book illustrations.

Rubens’s paintings employ bravura brushstrokes, dynamic movement, rich color, and dramatic lighting effects. They commemorate heroic stories from mythology, venerate Catholic iconography, and portray royals from throughout Europe.