5 Sentences By Peter Paul Rubens

Today we are going to explore some of the best phrases by Peter Paul Rubens, one of the great figures of Baroque painting  (1577-1640). This artist studied in Belgium and then moved to Italy. There he absorbed all the knowledge of his mentor, the Duke of Mantua.

Painting became his profession and there was no lack of requests in the workshop he opened. Rubens left an important mark of his personality in his works. Today, however, we have gathered just a few of Peter Paul Rubens’ phrases, the most interesting, to get a little closer to this painter’s way of thinking.

However, before delving into them, it is convenient to know that Rubens also cultivated another type of art. The article La vista by Peter Paul Rubens ( The vision of Peter Paul Rubens ) accurately exposes his journey beyond painting in the form of sculptures and tapestries.

In total, he devoted himself to approximately 3,000 works. So, let’s talk about a multifaceted artist.

1. Quotes by Peter Paul Rubens, a simple man

This quote by Peter Paul Rubens makes it clear that he was a simple and humble man. In fact, when we rummaged through his biography, we found that he grew up in a family that had been struggling financially. Maybe that’s why Rubens used to despise those who were arrogant.

Despite knowing he was a good painter, he never stopped learning from the best. Therefore, we find different influences in his art. The only thing Rubens feared was the lack of inspiration, the basis of any creative work.

2. The spirit of creation

The second of Peter Paul Rubens’ sentences is related to creativity. The younger ones always have fantastic ideas, many of which seem like crazy stuff. However, what happens as these young people grow up? They tend to lose that ability.

Rubens mentions the “boredom and misery of the soul”, as he was a Catholic person. He believed that the spirit of creation could recover thanks to God.

He painted one of his paintings as a form of propaganda for Catholicism to fight Protestantism. This work is Santa Teresa interceding for Bernardino de Mendoza in Purgatory .

3. The passion that comes from heaven

As we can see, there are many sentences in which Rubens is very aware of God. Here, he combines the passion he feels for painting with the heavens, the place where God is according to Catholics. On the other hand, it speaks of earthly reflections, minimizing them.

This phrase makes it clear that Rubens questioned the reflections that common people (atheists) or people whose religion was different from the one he practiced could make. In fact, he hands over the responsibility for his creativity and passion for painting to God.

4. White is poisonous, but also useful.

With that sentence, Rubens leaves us a little out of place. Somehow, what he thinks about the color white are two contradictory ideas. He considers that whites should not be abused, as they qualify as “poisonous”. However, it specifies that it should only be used to draw attention to certain areas of a painting.

Perhaps what he tries to convey to us with this phrase is that, in excess, the color white can harm a work, but if used only when really necessary to give small touches of light in specific parts, it can be very useful.

This makes us think of the famous phrase that says “all excess is bad”. In fact, we can see a clear example in pharmacology: many drugs become toxic when the dose we take is higher than prescribed.

5. The size of the value in the sentences of Peter Paul Rubens

Many people define themselves depending on the talent they have. While it is true that Rubens was aware of his talent, with this statement he makes it clear that he would never allow that ability to outweigh his value.

A person’s worth is not defined by what he or she has. Not for what she has achieved, nor for her talent, as Rubens says. This, perhaps, is another sign of the rejection he felt for arrogance, as this characteristic can end up blinding a person, making us forget who we really are.

We hope you got to know a little more about this artist’s way of thinking. If you’ve never seen one of his works, we invite you to take a look at the ones we’ve mentioned in this article and others, such as The Three Graces.