Peter Paul Rubens

Descent from the Cross — Baroque exuberance

The most prolific and influential painter of the Northern Baroque — diplomat, scholar, and impresario of a vast workshop. His paintings explode with energy, color, and fleshy abundance. The Descent from the Cross in Antwerp Cathedral is the supreme altarpiece of the Counter-Reformation north of the Alps.

Key works

• Descent from the Cross1614— Antwerp Cathedral — Baroque devotion at full power
  Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp
• The Garden of Love~1633— Aristocratic pleasure as cosmic celebration
  Museo del Prado, Madrid
• Marie de' Medici cycle1622-1625— 24 canvases — royal propaganda as art
  Louvre, Paris

Connections

External