"[I] decided to force myself to cut this golden knot of ambition [to portray the nobility any longer] in order to recover my liberty. Realizing that a retirement of this sort must be made while one is rising and not falling; that one must leave Fortune while she is still favorable.. .I seized the occasion of a short, secret journey to throw myself at Her Highness's feet and beg, as the sole reward for so many efforts, exemption from such [diplomatic] assignments and permission to serve her in my own home. This favor I obtained with more difficulty than any other she ever granted me.. .Now by God's grace.. ..I am leading a quiet life with my wife and children and have no pretensions in the world than to live in peace."
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Quote in a letter to his friend Peiresc, 18 Dec. 1634; as cited by Simon Schrama, in Rembrandt's eyes, Alfred A. Knopf - Borzoi Books, New York 1999, p. 402
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Paul_Rubens
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Peter Paul Rubens
1577 – 1640
flämischer Maler
26 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Peter Paul Rubens →
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