The Making of Rubens [Paperback]

Professor Svetlana Alpers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 1996

Reconsiders the concensus on Rubens as a successful, prolific, and facile court painter who is dwarfed by the achievements of his near-contemporary Rembrandt. This book scrutinizes the assumptions upon which this image is built, and discovers an artist involved with ambivalence and ambiguity.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A re-examination of Rubens's work by one of today's leading art historians.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Peter Paul Rubens has always been eminently accessible, an artist at ease with the conventions and traditions of his time, successful and prolific, admired if not revered. In this intense study of two of Rubens's bacchic paintings, "Kermiss" and "Silenus," Alpers (Rembrandt's Enterprise, LJ 6/15/88) examines Rubens's reputation in terms of present-day art history, considering the social, political, and gender implications and the development of national tastes. Alpers successfully discusses how the works, by turns vulgar and opulent, are imbued with a sense of abandon, quite at variance with the image of Rubens as the organized, practical creator and purveyor of art. However, perhaps because this work grew out of an earlier study, Alpers too often suggests an analysis and then backs away from it. While it is interesting to see how Alpers's ideas develop, the ultimate product here is disjointed. Interesting but not essential for large collections.?Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (July 25, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300067445
• ISBN-13: 978-0300067446
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,241,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading, June 9, 2000

By 

Kali "bengaligirl" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Making of Rubens (Hardcover)

I bought this book because I was researching some of Rubens more obscure paintings. It was a great help though I will admit that it has been written for the intellectual reader who already knows a fair amount about Ruebens, his life and work. Svetlana Alpers presents the reader with various paintings and sketches and discusses them in detail throughout the book. This is not an easy book to read but if you are patient and are willing to read it in several sittings then you will definitely benefit from it. A good solid read for anyone wanting to research Rubens on a more scholarly level.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful acocunt of the life of Peter Paul Rubens, June 5, 2000

By 

Beverley (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Making of Rubens (Hardcover)

If you admire Flemish Baroque art and admire Rubens, this book is for you. An intertesting and educational documentation of his life. See parts of him you never knew. Excellent source for studying and guide for Baroque art.