The influence of Italian Art upon the work of Peter Ruben
Peter Paul Rubens, a Flemish Baroque painter of the sixteenth and seventeenth Century focused his work namely upon the nude, a typical fixation, especially with Italian based artists during the Renaissance and Mannerism periods. Italy - particularly Florence and Rome - was at the heart of the Renaissance - A period of New Learning and the rebirth of Classical Art and Literature - and therefore produced many prominent artists who inevitably influenced the work of many aspiring young followers of the Renaissance era. However, as the Catholic Church became increasingly unsatisfied with the mannerist's work as it no longer honoured the spirituality the Church required. Therefore a new form of art was created - Baroque - A style of which Ruben was renowned for due to fact that he fundamentally revitalized and redirected Northern European painting as Renaissance art gradually began to lose popularity with secular authorities, yet kept it's freedom and classical themes. The Renaissance was a period of great creative inspiration, from which many artists used as a motive to move away from the restrictive methods of Byzantine - a style that framed itself primarily upon the glorification of God. Throughout the 15th century artists studied
It is clear from compositions such as 'study of hands and two male heads' that fellow well-known Mannerist artists such as Leonardo (In 'study of hands') and Michelangelo (From a section of 'Creation of Adam') where very much main influences of Ruben. Baroque, on the other hand, evolved into a much more colourful movement which only aided the emphasis of the glorification of God. Although the two shared many physical similarities, Mannerist work utilised a generally very minimalist palette of browns, beiges or muted tones and shades. Ruben's work consists mainly of what one would typically expect from a late Renaissance artist - Earlier Italian master's have undoubtedly left a mark on his technique as pieces such as 'The death of Hippolytus' demonstrate a scene of chaos in which a mythical Greek figure is the focal point. Yet it was only in 1603 on a journey to Spain that Rubens discovered Baroque art - a movement that he was later to have a profound role in. George Slaying the Dragon' which greatly resembles much of Michelangelo's study illustrations. Ruben without doubt based the muscular figure of Hippolytus upon those created by a fellow master of portraying the human figure, Michelangelo, and works similar to 'Tityus in Hades' in which another Greek God faces an untimely death under the wrath of a seemingly demonic, materialised creature. Therefore, if these types of Late Renaissance artists affected later work then undoubtedly early renaissance movements had had a deep impact upon art and society as a whole throughout the sixteenth century. It showed much more frantic energy both in brush strokes and glowing colour as emphasised in compositions such as 'The Descent from the Cross' which shows an initial spark of the Baroque movement. Rubens, raised initially as a Calvinist, taught by humanist scholars and finally re-baptised into Roman Catholicism was inevitably to become an artists who devoted much of his talent into the glorification of religion, which was what Renaissance art was essentially about. Despite this, Rubens was one of the earlier Baroque artists who realised the intricate and over-complicated style of mannerism and late Renaissance work would not achieve any strong emotive outcome. Nonetheless, although his roots did namely lie in Italian classical art, his work did not merely repeat the work of those before him. the natural world, perfecting their understanding of such subjects as anatomy and perspective. In addition, not only the manner, but the materials Rubens utilised were very similar preferring Pen, ink and brown washes for many pieces, e.
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