Peter Paul Rubens

Painter, businessman, diplomat

Born in 1577 in Siegen, Germany, Rubens arrives in Antwerp at the age of 10 where he trains as a painter and subsequently becomes a member of the painters’ guild. After stints in Italy and Spain, Rubens returns to Antwerp and in 1610 becomes the official court artist.

Students fill Rubens’ studio as coins do his purse; he now receives lucrative commissions from the upper classes which he is able to take on in large numbers thanks to a large workforce. The paintings are designed by the master and realised, apart from a few exceptions, by his students.

From 1623 Rubens also serves as diplomat to the Spanish crown and is so successful in his negotiating a peace between Spain and England that he is awarded a knighthood in 1630. Rubens dies in Antwerp in 1640.