In this artwork, how is the History discussed?
In 1582, Peter Paul Rubens first apprenticed with a distant relative, Tobias Verhaecht, a landscape painter. Rubens spent a short time in his studio, learning the basics of composing a landscape. These lessons would influence his work, including Prometheus Bound, as the backgrounds of many of his paintings play an important role in the composition. Rubens then apprenticed for four years with Adam van Noort, a portrait painter, known for painting mythological scenes with plentiful nudes and unrestrained images of Flemish life. Before starting his own studio, Rubens worked with Otto van Veen, from 1594 to 1598. Here, Rubens learned composition and the iconography of history painting, demonstrated in Prometheus Bound with the foreshortened figure positioned close to the viewer and the use of iconography derived from an ancient Greek play.In 1610, Rubens opened a studio of his own in Antwerp, while also serving as court painter to the Archduke and Archduchess in Brussels. In the same period as Prometheus Bound, Rubens was also painting The Descent from the Cross, a commissioned altarpiece.
ancient Greek history painting Prometheus Archduchess Peter Paul Rubens Prometheus Bound iconography Archduke Antwerp Otto van Veen Adam van Noort foreshortened Tobias Verhaecht Brussels