the best books dedicated to him – Michelangelo Buonarroti is back

A RubensA large number of books have been dedicated to , the Antwerp painter who conquered the world with his pathos-rich works, his sensual female figures and his unusual use of colour.

I propose you some that tell his passionate story and artistic production. Where do I start? From a good biography about him.

One of Burckhardt’s favorite ideas, deeply rooted in him, is that Rubens united the art of the North with that of the South.

The early enthusiasm for Nordic art, the subsequent adoration for Italy, and finally the thoughtful admiration for Dutch art, all converge in the figure of Rubens. The author never tires of emphasizing the relationship of continuity between the Flemish and the Italian predecessorsnot only during his stay in Italy which lasted from 1600 to 1608, but throughout his life, until the height of his artistic ascent.

You can find the book HERE.

The abundant pictorial references to deities and ancient texts by Giulio Romano at Palazzo Te They were the ideal training ground for the educated Pieter Paul Rubens.

The Flemish intellectual, during the years of his cultural education, find in the rooms of Palazzo Te the perfect place to immerse yourself in the dreams of the ancients. The volume, published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name scheduled from 7 October 2003 to 7 January 2024, is that of create for the first time a correspondence between Rubens’ works and the decorative and iconographic motifs of the palacedesigned by Giulio Romano.

The path demonstrateshow much the Renaissance suggestions, developed by Rubens during the Italian and Mantuan years, have evolved finding space in the painting of his maturity.

You can find the book HERE

Rubens’ attention to Italian culture was a constant reference throughout his life. and, in particular, the eight years of his stay in Italy were an opportunity to study ancient art and the great Renaissance masters, but also to look at the works of artists who were contemporary to him, such as Caravaggio and Baglione, to analyze architecture, to attend scientific and literary circles.

Such an evident fascination with Italian civilization has produced a true archival, iconographic and stylistic mine through which to interpret not only the painting, but also the system of diplomatic and relational relationships that Rubens pursued throughout his life.

You can find the book HERE.

The volume is the exhibition catalogue “Pygmalion’s touch. Rubens and sculpture in Rome” at the Borghese Gallery in Rome (14 November 2023 – 18 February 2024).

The publication returns Rubens’ intense dialogue with sculpture: not only the ancient one, passionately ‘brought back to life’ by the Flemish artist in the drawings made during his very important stay in Italy (1600-1608), but above all the modern one.

Rubens was a tenacious observer of Renaissance plastic production, a fervent inspirer of contemporary art and often an unexpected point of reference for Italian sculptors as well.

You can find the book HERE.

The volume is the catalogue of the exhibition of the same name set up in Genoa at the Palazzo Ducale from 6 October 2022 to 22 January 2023, an extraordinary exhibition for tell the greatness of the greatest baroque painter of all time: Peter Paul Rubens and his relationship with the city.

The project was born on the occasion of the fourth centenary of the publication in Antwerp of Rubens’ famous volume Palazzi di Genova (1622). Rubens stayed in Genoa on several occasions between 1600 and 1607 and thus had the opportunity to maintain direct – and in some cases very close – relationships with the richest and most influential aristocrats of the city.

The exhibition and the catalogue present more than 150 works, among which the protagonists are over twenty Rubens from European and Italian museums and collections (with some very significant ‘returns’), which add to those present in the city, thus reaching a number such as has not been seen since the end of the eighteenth century in Genoa; since, that is, the crisis of the aristocracy with the repercussions of the French Revolution gave rise to an inexorable diaspora of masterpieces towards the collections of the world.

You can find the book HERE.

What I propose to you is a book published in English, full of extraordinary images, which recounts Rubens’ female portraiture.

You can find the book HERE.

For now, yours ever Michelangelo Buonarroti bids you farewell and gives you an appointment for the next posts and on social media.