Middle School
Worksheets
Peter Paul Rubens, Prince of Baroque Painters
Peter Paul Rubens
Reading Comprehension for June 28
Peter Paul Rubens was born on June 28, 1577, in what is now Germany. His father was a Calvinist lawyer who had fled to Germany to escape religious persecution, but the family was not destined to stay there long. They were also not destined to remain Protestants.
After Peter Paul's father died when he was ten, his mother moved her family to the city of Antwerp in what is now Belgium. Peter Paul was then raised as a Catholic. It is hard to imagine how hard this must have been for a young boy. Peter Paul lost his father, his country, and his childhood religion in short order.
However, this move gave the future artist great opportunities because he had arrived in a thriving artistic center. Peter Paul first dipped his toe into the pool of culture in Antwerp and liked it so much that he jumped right in for the rest of his life! He studied Latin, Greek, and art. Philip, his brother, later became a classical scholar, and Peter Paul used his classical training in many of his later paintings.
Peter Paul's life took another turn when his mother faced financial challenges. He was only thirteen when his mother took him out of school and sent him to the household of a countess to be a page. This move gave Peter Paul an opportunity to learn good manners and the rules of court life. However, the young man really wanted to become an artist. A year later he became an apprentice to a landscape painter. Shortly afterward, he worked in the studio of an excellent portrait painter named Adam van Noort.
As an apprentice, Peter Paul learned the fine art of mixing colors, preparing canvases, and cleaning brushes. He became a master painter in 1598 and joined the Guild of Saint Luke. This meant he could take on a student of his own. He became such a good teacher that many famous artists studied under him during his years as a teacher.
