From about 1615 onwards more emotion returned to Rubens's painting, and the relief-like style was replaced by a strong spatial treatment and diagonal compositions. Beside the secular paintings (mythological and hunting scenes) Rubens painted many altarpieces whose dynamic composition also stands out. In these altarpieces the rather severe iconic character of the earlier devotional pieces gradually makes way for a more rhetorical expression, better suited to propaganda.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 10 minutes): Orlando Gibbons: Te Deum

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	Christ Triumphant over Sin and Death 1615-22 Oil on canvas, 182 x 230 cm Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna	1400*1114 True Color 140 Kb
	The Martyrdom of St Stephen 1616-17 Oil on canvas, 437 x 278 cm Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes	749*1140 True Color 171 Kb
	The Last Judgment 1617 Oil on canvas, 606 x 460 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich	1030*1357 True Color 188 Kb
	Small Last Judgment - Oil on wood, 183,3 x 119 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich	892*1350 True Color 183 Kb
	Descent from the Cross 1616-17 Oil on canvas, 425 x 295 cm Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille	725*1075 True Color 124 Kb
	Lamentation of Christ 1617-18 Oil on panel, 138 x 98 cm (central panel), 137 x 48 cm (each side panel) Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp	1228*850 True Color 186 Kb
	Lamentation (Christ on the Straw) 1617-18 Oil on panel, 138 x 98 cm Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp	900*1319 True Color 124 Kb
	Descent from the Cross 1617-18 Oil on canvas, 297 x 200 cm The Hermitage, St. Petersburg	836*1253 True Color 93 Kb
	Adoration of the Magi 1618-19 Oil on canvas, 245 x 325 cm Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon	1037*791 True Color 95 Kb
	Miracles of St Ignatius 1615-20 Oil on canvas, 400 x 275 cm Chiesa del Gesù, Genoa	750*1164 True Color 121 Kb
	Adoration of the Magi 1619 Oil on panel, 318 x 276 cm Sint-Janskerk, Mechelen	1223*1400 True Color 252 Kb
	Christ at Simon the Pharisee 1618-20 Oil on canvas transferred from wood, 189 x 285 cm The Hermitage, St. Petersburg	1241*931 True Color 129 Kb
	Miraculous Draught of Fishes c. 1619 Oil on canvas Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-over-de-Dijlekerk, Mechelen	1500*906 True Color 213 Kb
	Miraculous Draught of Fishes (detail) c. 1619 Oil on canvas Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-over-de-Dijlekerk, Mechelen	845*1100 True Color 189 Kb
	The Last Communion of St Francis 1619 Oil on panel, 422 x 226 cm Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp	727*954 True Color 115 Kb
	Christ on the Cross between the Two Thieves 1619-20 Oil on panel, 429 x 311 cm Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp	850*1170 True Color 150 Kb
	The Fall of the Damned c. 1620 Oil on canvas, 286 x 224 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich	764*1000 True Color 144 Kb
	Madonna in Floral Wreath c. 1620 Oil on oak, 185 x 209,8 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich	1125*970 True Color 188 Kb
	Assumption of the Virgin c. 1620 Oil on canvas, 458 x 297 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	678*1020 True Color 121 Kb
	The Three Crosses c. 1620 Oil on canvas Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam	606*956 True Color 110 Kb