Rubens and Britain

Verdict: Give it a miss

Where: Tate Britain, Pimlico

When: 22 November 2011 – 6 May 2012

What is it? A selection of sketches by Rubens that relate to Rubens interactions with Britain and the monarchy in particular.

My opinion: Like most others, when I think of Peter Paul Rubens, I picture the large baroque masterpieces mixing of Flemish and Italian styles, that stem from his upbringing and training respectively. Rubens was a prolific painter (try and find a major gallery without one of his works) and that may be why he is constantly under-rated; I recall a room in le Louvre of primarily Rubens large canvases that has remarkably low traffic through it.

I went into this one room exhibit expecting large impressive paintings and was disappointed with only seeing sketches. The counter argument is that this exhibit relates to Rubens work in Britain, and there weren't many but this could easily be explained away in a short article or with a few pieces – dedicating an exhibit, albeit one room, to it seems overkill. One to overlook.