Hidden Dangers from the Hunt

1613 I 1577, Peter Paul Rubens was born in Siegen, Germany, to Belgian parents from Antwerp. He lived there until he was 10 years old, when his father died and his mother moved the family back to Antwerp. By age 13, Rubens knew he wanted to be an artist. In 1600, he traveled to Italy where he studied firsthand Renaissance and classical works by masters such as Michelangelo, Bassano, Titian, and Veronese and established his reputation as an artist. He furthered his studies during trips to Spain before returning to Antwerp in 1609. Those influences, and his penchant for creating largescale works, are evident in Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt, this month’s cover art, one of four paintings that Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, commissioned Rubens to create for display in the Schleissheim Palace, a summer residence for nobility. This work, as well as its companions that depicted lion, wolf, and boar hunts, was plundered from the palace during the Napoleonic Wars. Although this Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt (ca. 1615–1616) (detail). Oil on canvas 97.6 in × 126.4 in/248 cm × 321 cm. Alte Pinakothek, Kunstareal, Munich, Germany; digital image from Art Resource, New York, New York, USA. ABOUT THE COVER