This morning I got an email from a friend. I opened it up and this image assaulted me. This is before I had a cup of coffee in the hand.  Rubenesque is a word we throw around when we want to describe someone, usually a woman, of generous proportions. But there is so much more to to Peter Paul Rubens – take a look at his life and work HERE.

In1630, when Rubens was 53 he married 16-year-old Helene Fourment and it was Helene who inspired the voluptuous figures in many of his paintings. Rubens died from gout on May 30th 1640. Much more here.

His paintings can be divided into three categories: those he painted by himself, those he painted in part (mainly hands and faces), and those he only supervised. He had, as was usual at the time, a large workshop with many apprentices and students, I was wondering where Andy Warhol got the idea.

This painting Bacchus, Der Römische Gott des Weines (1638 / 1640), is part of the Hermitage Collection in St. Petersburg – it  is a painting to look at in awe.

(Thanks Anita – keep ’em coming)