Rubens red (Copy)

Antwerp, 1649. The former stock market speculator Maarten van Groenen is an art-loving rentier. He has more than the usual interest in the life and works of Antwerp's most famous resident of all time, painter Pieter Paul Rubens, who died nine years earlier.
Maarten gradually faces a number of pressing questions. What happened, for example, during the nocturnal meeting in the Rubens House in the summer of 1638, when Pieter Paul Rubens, whether or not under the spell of the Rosicrucians, received a delegation of 'scholars'? Why did his painting studio sometimes offer the appearance of an alchemist's cellar? Where does his excessive interest in mummies come from, of which he bought a number?
Meanwhile, the decline of Antwerp, which is severely plagued by religious strife, continues. The streets of the city, which is groaning under the blockade of the Scheldt, are largely empty. The majestic Rubens House, purchased by the painter in the 1620s for a colossal sum and transformed into an Italian palazzo in the middle of the city in just a few years through heavy investments on his part, has a high-ranking guest as tenant: Sir William Cavendish, the former right-hand man of the English king Charles I, who had been beheaded earlier that year. And a supporter of his son, the new Catholic crown pretender...
What makes this edition of the beautiful historical thriller Rubensrood extra attractive is the richly illustrated colour supplement at the back of the book, with images of the paintings by Rubens discussed in the book and information about the most important people around Rubens and 17th century Antwerp.