Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) was a Flemish painter whose work is characterized by a rich, painterly style and a lively, expressive tone. His paintings are often monumental in size, include deep red colors (a favorite of Rubens), and were sought after by both aristocratic and Catholic patrons. He painted mythological, genre, and Christian subjects. Rubens worked for patrons such as King Charles I of England, the Hapsburgs, and the Spanish royal family. Rubens traveled across Europe studying earlier masters and even contemporaries such as Caravaggio. He was highly successful, and was able to build his own grand home and studio in Antwerp. Rubens was a prolific painter; some of his most famous paintings include The Raising of the Cross (c. 1610), which is a fifteen-foot tall triptych in the Church of Saint Walpurga in Antwerp, as well as Venus and Adonis (c. 1635), and the recently attributed Massacre of the Innocents (c. 1611), which sold for over $70 million at auction in 2002.