400th birthday of Peter Paul Rubens - Germany / German Democratic Republic 1977 - 35 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. 35-penny value. The old woman with the brazier. To 1616/1618. Oil on oak wood, 116 x 92 cm. Gall 958 The painting was originally part of a larger painting that is now in the Brussels Museum depicting the goddess of love Venus in the forge of the volcano. The iron-forging god on the anvil took the place of the group of three people who, with the help of a pronounced chiaroscuro effect, achieved a poetic internalization unusual for Rubens. While the little boy is blowing into the embers of the coal basin and the taller one is dreaming, the old woman's features are transfigured by a kindly smile. The treatment of the light shows the influence of the Italian Caravaggio.