Rubens, 'The Fall of Phaeton', about 1604-6.
© National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Image 2005 Board of Trustees.
Rubens, 'Hero and Leander', about 1604-6.
© Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut. Gift of Susan Morse Hilles.
It was the goal of all young Northern European artists to go to Italy and see for real the great Renaissance and classical works that they knew from prints.
In 1600 the twenty-two year-old Rubens arrived in Venice. He had no commissions and no patron. He did, however, have contacts.
Rubens was introduced to the Duke of Mantua who just happened to be looking for court painters and he offered the young artist a salary and a position.
In Venice, Rubens saw works by Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese and began to incorporate elements of their styles and techniques into his own work.
'The Fall of Phaeton' and 'Hero and Leander', from around 1605, show Rubens imitating Tintoretto's dramatic lighting effects.
More about Tintoretto :
