Looking East – Rubens Encounter with Asia

by Stephanie Schrader

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This is a fascinating exploration of the mystery that surrounds of Ruben's most well-known and intriguing drawings. Peter Paul Rubens was one of the most talented and successful artists working in 17th-century Europe. During his illustrious career as a court painter and diplomat, Rubens expressed a fascination with exotic costumes and headdresses. With his masterful handling of black chalk and touches of red, Rubens executed a compelling drawing that features a figure wearing Asian costume - a depiction that has recently been identified as Man in Korean Costume. Despite the drawings renown - both during Ruben's own lifetime and in contemporary art scholarship - the reasons why it was made and whether it actually depicts a specific Asian person remain a mystery. The intriguing story that develops involves a shipwreck, an unusual hat, the earliest trade between Europe and Asia, the trafficking of Asian slave, and Jesuit missionaries.
  • ISBN10 1606061313
  • ISBN13 9781606061312
  • Publish Date 26 March 2013
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country US
  • Publisher Getty Trust Publications
  • Imprint J. Paul Getty Museum
  • Format Paperback
  • Pages 128
  • Language English