Peter Paul Rubens (Siegen 1577 - Antwerp 1640) circle of Saint Catherine of Alexandria Oil on canvas 129.5 x 94cm ...

Peter Paul Rubens (Siegen 1577 - Antwerp 1640) circle of Saint Catherine of Alexandria Oil on canvas 129.5 x 94cm The work is based on the painting by Peter Paul Rubens and engraved by Schelte von Bolswert.
Rubens, known as "the Prince of the Baroque", was the great master who revolutionised both Flemish and European painting. His early training came from the masters Otto van Veen and Jan Brueghel the Elder. His trip to Italy, where he stayed, studied and painted for eight years, was fundamental to his artistic growth. His first stop was Venice, where Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto studied. He later came into contact with Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, becoming the family's court painter, a position he held until the end of his stay in Italy. In Mantua, Rubens had the opportunity to closely and assiduously study the rich ducal collection. By making copies of several famous paintings, he was able to practise technically on the examples of the great masters. In 1601 he was sent by the Duke to Rome, where he was able to broaden his figurative horizons even further by copying the models of Michelangelo and Raphael and by studying antiquity, also focusing on the contemporary artistic production of Carracci, Caravaggio and Federico Barocci. After leaving Italy, he settled in Antwerp, where he set up his workshop, applying the methods of organised production, that is, employing his collaborators on the basis of rational criteria and individual specialisations. Among the numerous painters who came out of Rubens's workshop or who were strongly influenced by the master, we remember: Cornelis and Paul de Vos, Jacob Jordaens, Pieter Van Mol, Victor Wolvoet, Joanna Vergouwen, Jan Boeckhorst known as Lange Jan, Lucas Van Uden, Theodor Van Thulden, Peter Van Lint, Willem Van Harp, Vincent Adrianssen, Pieter Van Avont, Jan and Hendrick van Balen, Theodor Boeyemans or Boeijermans, Vincent Malò, Gerard Segher Gaspar de Crayer and Abraham Willemsens.