influence of the moves if you have it's hard to overstate the influence of italy on rubens. it can't be summed up in a word. one could say that you'll be a rubens the real rubens was born angele. the painter the artist truly experienced a metamorphosis there. after an eight year stay rubens left italy in the autumn of sixteen zero zero eight his mother was gravely ill. he was very close to his family especially his brother philip who held an important office in antwerp. but by the time he arrived in december his mother had died. he decided to remain nevertheless and would never return to italy. his brother introduced him to a young woman and rubens fell in love.