Where can you see Peter Paul Rubens in Rome?

At the Capitoline Museums: Romulus and Remus. At Santa Maria in Vallicella: The altarpieces of the Chiesa Nuova. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

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

Romulus and Remus, of about 1615 to 1616, at the Capitoline Museums. The twins and the she-wolf on the bank of the Tiber, painted in Antwerp from his memories of the ancient marble in Rome. It hangs in the city's own museum, a few rooms from the bronze wolf.

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?

The leading painter of the Flemish Baroque. Lived in Italy from 1600 to 1608. Painted the high altar of the Chiesa Nuova in Rome. Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish painter, of the Baroque.

Painter, 1577 to 1640

Peter Paul Rubens

Rubens spent eight years in Italy as a young man, two long stays of them in Rome, copying the antique and the Renaissance. He went home to Antwerp and painted the Baroque.

Romulus and Remus by Rubens: the twins with the she-wolf under a fig tree, watched by a river god and a shepherd. — Peter Paul Rubens, CC0

A self-portrait of Rubens in a wide black hat. — Peter Paul Rubens, Public domain

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

Where to see Peter Paul Rubens in Rome

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

Capitoline Museums1 work

Romulus and Remus
about 1615 to 1616
The twins and the she-wolf on the bank of the Tiber, painted in Antwerp from his memories of the ancient marble in Rome. It hangs in the city's own museum, a few rooms from the bronze wolf.

Santa Maria in Vallicella1 work

The altarpieces of the Chiesa Nuova
1606 to 1608
Three paintings on slate round the high altar, with angels adoring a miraculous image of the Virgin. They are his only works made for a Roman church that are still in place.

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

The leading painter of the Flemish Baroque
Lived in Italy from 1600 to 1608
Painted the high altar of the Chiesa Nuova in Rome

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