Philip Rubens

Philip Rubens (1574–1611), was a Flemish antiquarian, librarian and philologist from the Low Countries. He was the older brother of the prominent Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens. Life Philip was born on 27 April 1574 in the city of Siegen to Jan Rubens and Maria Pypelincks. His parents had fled with their families to Cologne in 1568 because they feared persecution as Calvinists in their homeland. His father Jan Rubens was a lawyer and had been an alderman in Antwerp from 1562 to 1568. His mother Maria Pypelinckx came from a prominent family. After Philip's father was appointed legal advisor to Anna of Saxony, the second wife of William the Silent, the Rubens family moved in 1570 to Siegen where her court was located. Jan Rubens then had an affair with Anna of Saxonyn which led to a pregnancy. Jan Rubens was incarcerated for the affair and was at risk of being sentenced to death. Thanks to his wife's entreaties, his life was spared and was released from prison after two years. After his release, Jan Rubens was banned from practicing as a lawyer for a while. This put heavy pressure on the family, which was only relieved when the professional ban was given up after the death of Anna of Saxony in 1577. In this difficult situation, Philip was born in 1574, followed in 1577 by his brother Peter Paul. In 1578 the Rubens family moved to Cologne where father Jan Rubens died in 1587. The widow Maria Pypelinckx returned with her family to Antwerp in 1590, where she again converted to Catholicism. Philip Rubens attended with his younger brother Peter Paul in Antwerp the Latin school of Rombout Verdonck, where they studied Latin classics. In 1590 the brothers had to stop their education for financial reasons, more specifically to provide a dowry for their sister Baldina. Philip had distinguished himself in his studies. He succeeded in obtaining an appointment as secretary to Jean Richardot, president of the Secret Council, in Brussels. At the same time, he became the private teacher of Richardot's sons Guillaume and Antoine. Philip accompanied the sons to Leuven when they became students at the Leuven University. They lived there with Justus Lipsius and attended his lectures. Philip became one of the professor's favourite students. After a four-year stay in Leuven, Philip returned to Jean Richardot in Brussels in 1599. When Guillaume Richardot travelled to Italy in 1601, Philip accompanied him and continued his law studies in Rome.