RUBENS, Peter Paul
(b. 1577, Siegen, d. 1640, Antwerpen)

Helene Fourment with her Son Frans

1635
Oil on panel, 146 x 102 cm
Alte Pinakothek, Munich

This intensely personal work reveals to us the true Rubens, whose mastery of stroke and palette can convey the sweetness and freshness of youth with incomparable mastery. These brushstrokes, so tenderly applied, reflect an obsession with the beauty of his "Helen".