Where can you see Peter Paul Rubens in Florence?

At the Pitti Palace, Palatine Gallery: The Four Philosophers and The Consequences of War. At the Uffizi Gallery: Henry IV at the Battle of Ivry. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is Peter Paul Rubens's most famous work in Florence?

The Four Philosophers, of about 1611 to 1612, at the Pitti Palace, Palatine Gallery. Rubens stands at the left beside his dead brother, their teacher Justus Lipsius and a fellow pupil, under a bust then thought to be Seneca.

When and where was Peter Paul Rubens born?

On 28 June 1577, at Siegen, Germany. Peter Paul Rubens died on 30 May 1640, at Antwerp, Belgium, aged about 63.

What is Peter Paul Rubens known for?

Painted the Consequences of War in 1638 for the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Put his own portrait in the Four Philosophers. His two canvases for Henry IV of France in the Uffizi were never finished. Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish painter, of the Baroque.

Painter, 1577 to 1640

Peter Paul Rubens

Rubens passed through Florence as a young man in the service of the Duke of Mantua, and was a guest at a Medici wedding. The Medici went on buying him for the rest of his life.

Born: 1577, Siegen, Germany
Died: 1640, Antwerp, Belgium
Movement: Baroque
In Florence: 3 works in 2 museums

Where to see Peter Paul Rubens in Florence

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

Pitti Palace, Palatine Gallery2 works

The Four Philosophers
about 1611 to 1612
Rubens stands at the left beside his dead brother, their teacher Justus Lipsius and a fellow pupil, under a bust then thought to be Seneca.
The Consequences of War
1638 to 1639
Mars strides out to war, dragged on by a Fury, while Venus tries to hold him back and Europe throws up her arms. He painted it during the Thirty Years' War and explained every figure in a letter.

Uffizi Gallery1 work

Henry IV at the Battle of Ivry
1627 to 1630
One of a pair of huge canvases from a cycle on the French king's life, ordered by his widow Marie de' Medici and abandoned when she fell from power.

The life of Peter Paul Rubens

Rubens was born in 1577 and grew up in Antwerp. He left for Italy in 1600 and stayed until 1608, in the service of the Duke of Mantua. In Rome he won the most sought-after commission of the day, the high altar of the new church of the Oratorians.

Back in Antwerp he ran the busiest workshop in Europe, served as a diplomat between Spain and England, and was knighted by both. He died in 1640.

What to know

Painted the Consequences of War in 1638 for the Grand Duke of Tuscany
Put his own portrait in the Four Philosophers
His two canvases for Henry IV of France in the Uffizi were never finished

Born: 28 June 1577, Siegen, Germany
Died: 30 May 1640, Antwerp, Belgium