Peter Paul Rubens is one of the world’s most famous Baroque artists, known for his dramatic altarpieces, recent authentication debates, and of course, his eponymous curvy ‘Rubenesque’ beauties.

Rubens satisfied the horror vacui (fear of empty space) of a generation of absolutist monarchs. From his cycle of 24 enormous paintings that celebrate the life of Marie de' Medici in the Louvre to ...