"Mark Lamster is a brave writerhellip;.his affection for his subject is so complete-and completely convincing-his style is so gracefully unpretentious and his research is so thorough thatMaster of Shadows: The Secret Diplomatic Career of the Painter Peter Paul Rubensmanages to be engaging, instructive and thought-provoking, all at once. Lamsterrs"s contribution is to demonstrate so clearly the interplay between Rubensrs" diplomatic assignments and many of his important painterly commissions, a conjunction whose force in his career was much more consequential than other accounts of his life have allowed. Lamster does a nicely clear-headed job of sorting out the tangled politics of the low countries during what was a violently fraught and dynamic era. His history is judiciously free of judgments, something thatrs"s a bit of a feat when yours"re dealing with heroic regimes - at least by contemporary standards-such as the embryonic Dutch Republic and one of historyrs"s stock bad guys, Counter-Reformation Spain (with its fondness for a particularly authoritarian Catholicism backed up by the Inquisition). As he emerges in Lamsterrs"s account, Rubens manages to be simultaneously the man of the Spanish Court-and entirely his own." -Los Angeles Times "Lamster does a fine job chronicling Rubens' attempts to bring peace to his homeland.Master of Shadowssucceeds most by showing that there is more to Rubens than meets the eye.

Behind every painting is an allegory waiting to be deciphered. And behind many of Rubens' travels was a peace to be brokered. The journey makes for gripping reading." -St. Louis Post-Dispatch "In elegant brushstrokes, and using as his subject the painter/diplomat Rubens, Mark Lamster gives us here a vivid portrait of 17th century Europe and the political intrigue that led to the modern world." -Russell Shorto, bestselling author ofThe Island at the Center of the World "Mark Lamster looks beyond Rubens's talent for era-defining sensual nudes and delves into his little-known career as a diplomat and spy. The result is an exhilarating portrait of an age as dramatic and richly toned as one of Rubens's gigantic canvases." -Ross King, bestselling author ofMichelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling "This adroitly crafted biography of Rubens brings to life an artist so busy wheeling and dealing with the crowned heads of Europe that it's amazing he found the time to put brush to canvas.

Lamster's account engages the student of history as much as it opens the eyes of those who love Rubens's art." -Timothy Brook, author ofVermeer's Hat "Master of Shadowsis a fascinating account, as lively as it is informed. This utterly intriguing narrative has the knowledge and verve that infuse Rubens's brushstrokes; Lamster writes with the panache and enthusiastic engagement, as well as the capability, warranted by his marvelous subject." -Nicholas Fox Weber, author ofLe CorbusierandThe Bauhaus Group "Imagine that Pablo Picasso, in addition to painting the most famous masterpieces of the 20th century, had also devoted decades of his life to secret diplomacy aimed at preventing another world war. That is exactly what Peter Paul Rubens, the most revered painter of his era, did in 17th-century Europe. Mark Lamster tells this little-known story with a combination of brio and historical erudition bound to appeal to anyone who cares about beauty, passion, war and peace. I couldn't put it down." -Susan Jacoby, bestselling author ofThe Age of American Unreason "Art, war, diplomatic intrigue, secret spy missions-all rendered with the erudition of a scholar and the deft touc.