400th birthday of Peter Paul Rubens - Germany / German Democratic Republic 1977 - 20 Pfennig

Gemäldegalerie Dresden - Peter Paul Rubens On the occasion of the 400th birthday of the famous Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of the German Democratic Republic publishes six multi-colored special postage stamps with pictures of paintings from the Gemäldegalerie Dresden. Each value also carries the text "Gemädegalerie Dresden - Peter Paul Rubens 1577 - 1640". Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) Rubens is one of the most important representatives of Flemish Baroque painting. He was one of the most prolific artists we know. His art, full of joie de vivre, strength and festivity, was an excellent way of expressing a glamorous lifestyle in the age of absolutism. The artist maintained an extensive workshop operation in Antwerp. He was very versatile and has shown equal mastery in fields as diverse as portrait, landscape and animal image, mythological and religious depictions. The Dresden gallery owns a significant collection of his works. 20 Pfennig value: The drunken Hercules. 1612. Oil on oak, 220 x 200 cm. Gall 987 Hercules, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, is the most famous heros of the Greek legend, who performed many great deeds. He is the prototype of a hero and was also depicted in the art of antiquity such as the Renaissance and the Baroque. Rubens shows in a humorous way, how the otherwise Invincible through the drunkenness has lost his strength and can only keep up with the help of his legged dandies on legs.