"This book draws from both public and private collections to present in full color more than forty of Rubens's oil sketches. Viewers will find in these informal paintings an enchanting intimacy and gain a new appreciation of Rubens's capacity for invention, improvisation, and his special genius for dramatic design and coloristic brilliance." "The authors investigate the role of the oil sketch in Rubens's work, the development of the artist's themes and narratives in his multiple sketches; the history of the appreciation of his oil sketches, and they explore some of the unique aspects of his techniques and materials. By revealing the oil sketches as the most direct record of Rubens's creative process, the book presents Rubens as the greatest and most fluent practitioner of this vibrant and vital medium."--Jacket.