Peter-Paul Rubens

Peter-Paul Rubens (Peter Paul, Pieter Paul, Pieter Pauwel, Petrus Paulus; 1577 – 1640) was an artist and diplomat from the Southern Netherlands, now the Flemish part of Belgium. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. His unique and immensely popular Baroque style emphasised movement, colour, and sensuality, which followed the immediate, dramatic artistic style promoted in the Counter-Reformation. He produced altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects, referencing erudite aspects of both classical and Christian history. He was also a prolific designer of cartoons for the Flemish tapestry workshops and of frontispieces for the publishers in Antwerp.