Two Sleeping Children

Peter Paul Rubens

1577 - 1640

Two Sleeping Children

c. 1612-13
Oil on panel 50.5 x 65.5 cm
P.1972-1

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The great Flemish painter of the Baroque period, Rubens, first studied in Antwerp and then traveled to Italy where he studied ancient sculpture and the works of the Renaissance masters. After returning to Antwerp, Rubens became the court painter of the Archduke Albert of Austria, governor of the Spanish territory of the Netherlands. This lively sketch of innocent children is thought to depict Rubens' elder brother's orphans and was painted during the artist’s early period. It is filled with freshness and fully conveys his superb brushwork.

(Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)