365 Days of Art: February 23 – Italian Priest Recommends Rubens for a Job

Peter Paul Rubens, Adoration of the Shepherds, 1608

February 23, 1608

P. Flamminio Ricci, Padre Superiore of the Roman Congregation, writes to the Oratorium Congregation in Fermo to recommend Peter Paul Rubens for a painting job. He writes:

E flammingho ma da putto allevato in Roma.
(He is Flemish but as a boy was raised in Rome).

The canvas (not an altarpiece, which would have been even more prestigious) above was completed in three months for the church.