Heyday of Flemish Baroque Art (1620s: Rubens and Van Dyck)

Timeline

1. 1621–1628Antwerp · FlandersIn the 1620s Rubens ran a large studio, taking commissions from the Spanish, French, and English courts and creating series such as the 'Marie de' Medici Cycle'; between 1621 and 1625 he repeatedly traveled to Spain and England as a diplomatic envoy, bringing the Flemish Baroque visual language to courts across Europe.
2. 1621–1627Italy and Antwerp · ItalyAnthony van Dyck left Rubens' studio in the early 1620s, traveling to Italy to study Titian and the Renaissance portrait tradition, forming an elegant aristocratic portrait style; after returning to Antwerp in 1627 he became an independent commission master, infusing Flemish Baroque with a more personal portrait language.
3. 1628–1630Western Europe · Western EuropeBy the late 1620s, Flemish Baroque painting was exported to the Spanish, English, and French courts through commissions, copies, and apprentice networks; works by Rubens and Van Dyck became benchmarks of European aristocratic collections and church decoration, promoting the spread of Baroque art across Europe.