1577-1640, one of the Netherlands’s famous artists in art history fled from Flanders to Germany with his family escaping Spanish religious protestant persecution. He later returned to Flanders at the age of ten, and became a devout Catholic. Rubens trained under local master artists and became a master himself in 1598.
Because Flanders was still under the influence of Spain; artists were able to rely on commissions sponsored by the Catholic Church and the State. Peter Paul Rubens studied Renaissance art in Italy eight years after becoming a master. Returning to Flanders taking care of family business, Rubens received a Regency appointment to become the court painter. He improved his art career through government contacts receiving commissions from private patrons as well.