History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 36

Rubens’ mature allegorical style, exemplified by his cycle of paintings memorializing
the career of Marie de Médicis, queen of France (1622–25; Louvre, Paris), was ideally
suited to the ostentatious tastes of the Baroque age. In these exuberant works, fleshy
classical deities, swirling from the air and bounding from the sea, watch over many
events of Marie’s life. Rubens’ studio became a training ground for many Flemish
painters, among them Anthony van Dyck, a child prodigy who later became famous as
a court portrait painter in England; Frans Snyder, a still-life specialist; and David
Teniers the Elder and Adriaen Brouwer, both known chiefly for their paintings of
carousing peasants.

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