Rated R

Every good artist creates a world of his own, but in Peter Paul Rubens’ case you could even say that he created his own universe. Dr. Nico Van Hout’s lecture will explore the vast panorama of Rubensian painters throughout four centuries. Without Rubens there would have been no Rococo or Romantic era, no Orientalism or Impressionism. Many artists were seduced by Rubens’ brilliance of color, by his composition or technique, using these as stepping-stones to their own artistic maturing.

After graduating in art history from the University of Ghent in 1989, Dr. Van Hout gained a certificate in the Restoration and Conservation of Paintings from the National Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 1991. From 1994 to 1998, he worked as a researcher at the Rubenianum in Antwerp. Dr. Van Hout was involved in the research and restoration of the Oranjezaal in Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague in 1999. Since 2001, he has worked at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium where he is currently the Curator of Seventeenth Century Paintings. He gained his Ph.D. from the Catholic University of Leuven in 2005.