St. Gregory of Nazianzus (1621), which depicts the titular biblical figure, belongs to a collection of sketches that Rubens created as part of a commission: decorating the ceiling of Antwerp’s ...

Rubens completed the canvas around 1609, but it mysteriously went missing for nearly three centuries before resurfacing in Paris in 1929. "In 1985, I was wandering around alone and I saw it and I ...

Compare that to Rubens himself, who could put paint to canvas on such a massive work ... As with so many centuries-old paintings, the biggest problems are old varnish and bad previous restorations.