The Age of Rubens

This film particularly honors two of the greatest Flemish painters of the seventeenth century, Rubens and Van Dyck. Rubens had the brilliant gift of taking themes from classical mythology and making them live for his own time. He would tackle with dramatic verve large-scale complex work for altarpieces and ceilings, many showing evidence of his early study of Italian art; and all his pictures reveal the pleasure he took in painting them. His tremendous output of works of every kind included highly skilled portraits and landscapes expressing his delight in observing nature and people. Van Dyck, the most gifted of Rubens's assistants, was an outstanding painter of portraits. As court painter to Charles I of England, he created a majestic image of kingship. Other artists featured are Jan Bruegel the Elder, Frans Snijders, Jacob Jordaens and Teniers the Younger.

Part of the series

The National Gallery - A Private View