The Apotheosis of James I and Other Studies: Multiple Sketch for the Banqueting House Ceiling, Whitehall : Tate Britian

This oil painting was one of Sir Peter Paul Rubens' first visualizations of what the whole ceiling at Whitehall Palace would look like, including the ideas for 7 out the 9 ceiling compartments. Ruben was considered the leading artist when he returned to Antwerp in 1608 and started by setting up a studio with assisting young talented artists. It was in 1621 that Ruben was first asked by the British Court to design the ceiling of Whitehall. Only two sketches were made by the late 1620's since the project had stalled and James I passed away. They depicted James I's main achievement, the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England. In 1629 Rubens negotiated peace between England and Spain, secured the permission of James I's son to paint the ceiling in his fathers honor, and is knighted.
This oil painting sketch up was most likely for Rubens' personal use while in London and was made up completely by him.
In this sketch the Union of the Crowns is not depicted, instead it shows the late James I being carried up by an eagle surrounded by human depictions of justice and wisdom. With that there are also drawings of James' four royal qualities; liberty, discipline, knowledge, and virtue. The real paintings were finished in 1634 and put on the ceiling of the Whitehall Banquet Ceiling in 1636 and it is now the only ceiling painting of Rubens that survives.
Seeing an artists sketches is sometimes a chance to see how they mastered their skill. The piece of wood Rubens sketched and painted his first full idea on was 37 inches by 25 inches. One can only imagine he chose such a large work space to be able to add a great amount of detail. When looking at it closely you can see where he changed his mind, and where he became sure about an idea by the addition of more layers of paint. It is clear that Rubens knew human anatomy and even used symbolic scale by having the most important figure or scene being the largest. I don't think it would be an opinion to say Ruben is a leading artist.

Citation:
Karen Hearn. www.tate.org.uk. Tate Britian, Oct 2009. Web. 20 June 2013