Dr. Peter Paul Rubens
@peterpaulrubens.bsky.social
All-around genius working for peace, beauty, and intelligent thought.
IRL: professor of art history. Occasionally write things about Rubens. Also Dutch art, the Bruegel family, and Elizabethan visual culture.
Reader of many novels. DC & Amsterdam.
IRL: professor of art history. Occasionally write things about Rubens. Also Dutch art, the Bruegel family, and Elizabethan visual culture.
Reader of many novels. DC & Amsterdam.
Pinned
Kids and dogs alike enjoy desecrating columns in Delft's Oudekerk,1652. Church graffiti was a popular children's hobby, shown by many artists; here by Emanuel de Witte, whose day is today.
November 25, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Kids and dogs alike enjoy desecrating columns in Delft's Oudekerk,1652. Church graffiti was a popular children's hobby, shown by many artists; here by Emanuel de Witte, whose day is today.
2/2 No, it's not the same painting. Can you spot the differences? Emanuel de Witte painted it twice, with a few small changes.
November 25, 2025 at 2:38 PM
2/2 No, it's not the same painting. Can you spot the differences? Emanuel de Witte painted it twice, with a few small changes.
Sunlight falls through windows, adding to the geometric pattern on floor. A woman is playing music. And a man listens from the shadowed bed. Painted by Emanuel de Witte, whose day is today.
November 25, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Sunlight falls through windows, adding to the geometric pattern on floor. A woman is playing music. And a man listens from the shadowed bed. Painted by Emanuel de Witte, whose day is today.
2/2 Lifting the curtain on tomb of William the Silent in the Nieuwe Kerk, Delft, by Emanuel de Witte in 1653. That man with the red cloak gets around. We'll be seeing him again today, in another city.
November 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
2/2 Lifting the curtain on tomb of William the Silent in the Nieuwe Kerk, Delft, by Emanuel de Witte in 1653. That man with the red cloak gets around. We'll be seeing him again today, in another city.
Today's artist without a (known) birthday: Emanuel de Witte of Alkmaar. Painter of churches, markets, portraits. All-around great artist! Here, Nieuwe Kerk in Delft w/ tomb of William the Silent, 1656.
November 25, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Today's artist without a (known) birthday: Emanuel de Witte of Alkmaar. Painter of churches, markets, portraits. All-around great artist! Here, Nieuwe Kerk in Delft w/ tomb of William the Silent, 1656.
Mother has been reading poetry & now baby is asleep. Excellent plan! Will follow it myself. Thanks to Nicolaes Maes, whose day was today.
November 25, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Mother has been reading poetry & now baby is asleep. Excellent plan! Will follow it myself. Thanks to Nicolaes Maes, whose day was today.
The maid's asleep. The cat is stealing the dinner. The housewife seems very amused by it all, given that her dinner party upstairs is about to be ruined. By Nicolaes Maes, whose day is today, in 1655.
November 25, 2025 at 1:16 AM
The maid's asleep. The cat is stealing the dinner. The housewife seems very amused by it all, given that her dinner party upstairs is about to be ruined. By Nicolaes Maes, whose day is today, in 1655.
2/2 Portrait of a boy as a hunter in 1673, when no children's portrait was complete without dead game. By Nicolaes Maes.
November 25, 2025 at 1:10 AM
2/2 Portrait of a boy as a hunter in 1673, when no children's portrait was complete without dead game. By Nicolaes Maes.
Young girl posed as hunter in the 1670s. Was dubious about holding dead bird but daddy insisted. Dog thought the idea was excellent! Painted by Nicolaes Maes, whose day is today.
November 25, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Young girl posed as hunter in the 1670s. Was dubious about holding dead bird but daddy insisted. Dog thought the idea was excellent! Painted by Nicolaes Maes, whose day is today.
Bring back baby bumpers!
November 25, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Bring back baby bumpers!
2/2 Milk seller collecting her payment at the door. Instacart! From Nicolaes Maes.
November 24, 2025 at 11:57 PM
2/2 Milk seller collecting her payment at the door. Instacart! From Nicolaes Maes.
Two housewives chatting through the window in 1655. One is about to lose her salmon steaks to a very fortunate dog! By Nicolaes Maes, whose day is today.
November 24, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Two housewives chatting through the window in 1655. One is about to lose her salmon steaks to a very fortunate dog! By Nicolaes Maes, whose day is today.
2/2 Maria van der Meer, plump and feathered, looking calm in spite of dog barking in her ear and deer lunching in her lap. Will grow up into a poised lady! Painted here by Nicolaes Maes, 1660.
November 24, 2025 at 10:55 PM
2/2 Maria van der Meer, plump and feathered, looking calm in spite of dog barking in her ear and deer lunching in her lap. Will grow up into a poised lady! Painted here by Nicolaes Maes, 1660.
Don’t wake the baby! Such a nice moment of family life in 1650s Holland as depicted by Nicolaes Maes, reflected in the mirror busily painting away. Today is his day.
November 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Don’t wake the baby! Such a nice moment of family life in 1650s Holland as depicted by Nicolaes Maes, reflected in the mirror busily painting away. Today is his day.
2/2 Four children and their dog, 1657. Parents in the 50s were not as flakey as those in the 70s! But Nicolaes Maes, whose day is today, could go either way.
November 24, 2025 at 9:47 PM
2/2 Four children and their dog, 1657. Parents in the 50s were not as flakey as those in the 70s! But Nicolaes Maes, whose day is today, could go either way.
Four children as Ceres, Ganymede, Diana & a cherub. Several never forgave their parents for this indignity. By Nicolaes Maes, 1673.
November 24, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Four children as Ceres, Ganymede, Diana & a cherub. Several never forgave their parents for this indignity. By Nicolaes Maes, 1673.
2/2 No interruptions: young girl peeling apples. A lovely, still, quiet work painted around 1655 by Nicolaes Maes.
November 24, 2025 at 8:41 PM
2/2 No interruptions: young girl peeling apples. A lovely, still, quiet work painted around 1655 by Nicolaes Maes.
Cute Baby Pix of the Past: sitting in his highchair, wearing his bumper, contemplating next move in his campaign to annoy lace-making mum. Painted in 1656 by Nicolaes Maes, whose day is today.
November 24, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Cute Baby Pix of the Past: sitting in his highchair, wearing his bumper, contemplating next move in his campaign to annoy lace-making mum. Painted in 1656 by Nicolaes Maes, whose day is today.
2/2 Age: Jacob Trip, looking patriarchal as well he might since he's in his 80s. Painted around 1660 by Nicolaes Maes.
November 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
2/2 Age: Jacob Trip, looking patriarchal as well he might since he's in his 80s. Painted around 1660 by Nicolaes Maes.
Youth, with fond memories of warmer times: boys swimming in 1655, painted by Nicolas Maes, whose day is today.
November 24, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Youth, with fond memories of warmer times: boys swimming in 1655, painted by Nicolas Maes, whose day is today.
2/2 Flirting maids: an endless problem in the mid-century Dutch home, according to Nicolaes Maes. Always at it during the dinner parties!
November 24, 2025 at 4:50 PM
2/2 Flirting maids: an endless problem in the mid-century Dutch home, according to Nicolaes Maes. Always at it during the dinner parties!
2/2 Hush! says the housewife. The maid and her fellow are flirting downstairs. Nicolaes Maes caught them at it.
November 24, 2025 at 2:13 PM
2/2 Hush! says the housewife. The maid and her fellow are flirting downstairs. Nicolaes Maes caught them at it.
Maid flirts with her fellow, cat steals the dinner, housewife escapes boring party upstairs to enjoy the disorder of her own household. Great scene from 1657 by Nicolas Maes, whose day is today.
November 24, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Maid flirts with her fellow, cat steals the dinner, housewife escapes boring party upstairs to enjoy the disorder of her own household. Great scene from 1657 by Nicolas Maes, whose day is today.
2/2 Portrait of another man, from the days when hair was.... big. Painted around 1680 by Nicolaes Maes.
November 24, 2025 at 12:56 PM
2/2 Portrait of another man, from the days when hair was.... big. Painted around 1680 by Nicolaes Maes.
Died (alas!) on this day in 1693, in Amsterdam, Nicolaes Maes. Marvelous painter of daily life and portraits. Here by himself in 1685, as a famous old dude.
November 24, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Died (alas!) on this day in 1693, in Amsterdam, Nicolaes Maes. Marvelous painter of daily life and portraits. Here by himself in 1685, as a famous old dude.