This exhibition catalogue draws on the two celebrated and complementary collections of oil sketches to be found in the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, and The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. These works have long been regarded as one of the most compelling and remarkable aspects of Rubens' oeuvre. The important alliance of one of the world's most eminent teaching and research institutions with one of the world's great museums has enabled the creation of a unique catalogue with 70 colour illustrations and essays by experts from both institutes. The catalogue focuses on a number of Rubens' projects where the Hermitage and the Courtauld holdings are exceptionally rich including studies for the ceiling of the Banqueting House at Whitehall and the now lost ceiling of the Jesuit church in Antwerp.