Rubens, 'Samson and Delilah', about 1609-10. London, The National Gallery.

Rubens: A Master in the Making

26 October 2005 - 15 January 2006
Sainsbury Wing Admission charge

Sponsored by Shell

The exhibition told the remarkable story of Rubens's dramatic ascension from working as a pupil of a minor Antwerp artist, to become the dominant international painter of his time.

It was the most thorough explanation of the flowering of his genius ever attempted. The story traced his hesitant beginnings in Antwerp (1598-1600) to his eight-year study trip to Italy (1600-1608), where he embraced the Renaissance greats of Michelangelo and Raphael and the revolutionary style of Caravaggio.

A dazzling group of Genoese portraits from 1606 marked Rubens's irresistible bravura with the brush. These offered the exciting opportunity to focus on works that are by his hand alone, undiluted by any workshop assistance.

The culmination of the show was a group of heroic images Rubens created from his ambitious amalgam of sources on returning to Antwerp (1609-1614). These included 'Samson and Delilah' and 'The Massacre of the Innocents', works that were last seen together in Rubens's studio.

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