Rubens' Muses (beyond Titian)

  On 9 May 1600 Rubens set off for Italy. Working as a court artist for Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga (1562-1612) in Mantua, Rubens received plenty of opportunities to travel around the Peninsula. The sojourn in Italy, especially the early years from 1600 to 1602, played a vital role in the formation of Rubens as one of the greatest artists in western art history. 

  Rubens is famously considered an heir to the Venetian colore (‘colour’) tradition. However, the young artist also meaningfully engaged with modern artists other than Titian (c. 1485-1576) and the Venetian school. The number of surviving drawings by Rubens during this period suggests that Rubens deeply admired the two giants of the High Renaissance, namely Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). In Milan, Rubens carefully observed Leonardo’s Last Supper. In Florence, Rubens studied Michelangelo’s marble sculptures made for the tomb of Giuliano de’ Medici (1453-1478). Ultimately, arriving in Rome, Rubens was able to admire Michelangelo’s Sistine ceiling. Moreover, fascinated by classical antiquity, Rubens had abundant opportunities to study at first hand the ancient statuary that were constantly being rediscovered throughout the city.

  Rubens stayed in Italy until 1608. Nevertheless, it was in the early years that Rubens really intently studied the classical sculptures and the artworks by a wide range of Renaissance masters. Indeed, it was this period of intensive learning that later enabled Rubens to devise the dynamic compositions which have become almost synonymous with the Flemish master.