Portrait of Emperor Servius Sulpicius Galba

Servius Sulpicius Galba was a Roman emperor who overthrew and succeeded Nero during the Year of the Four Emperors, 68-69 AD. In this 'Phoebus Focus' Nils Büttner places the extraordinary emperor portrait that Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) painted of him in its context. Büttner does not only whisks the reader off to first-century Rome, he also makes an analysis of Rubens' support medium and painting method, his fascination with Antiquity, his sources of inspiration and many inventions. In addition, Büttner elaborates on the long tradition of painting portraits of rulers and their integration in Baroque interiors