On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P02459
- Author
- Rubens, Peter Paul (Flemish)
- Title
- Cephalus and Procris
- Chronology
- 1636
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 28 cm x 31,6 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- DONACION
- Procedence
- Donation by the Duchess widow of Pastrana, 1889
Fearing she was a victim of
infidelity, Procris followed her
beloved Cephalus to a clearing in
the woods, where he was resting
during a hunting expedition. The
young woman's jealousy led her to
her death when Cephalus mistook her
for wild game and shot her with an
arrow.
Rubens chose to depict that story
from Ovid's Metamorphosis in this
preparatory sketch for a painting
intended to decorate the Torre de
la Parada. The definitive painting
by Peeter Symons was often
mistakenly thought to represent the
story of Vertumnus and
Pomona.
Rubens uses models taken from
Renaissance art, including
Michelangelo's sculpture of Lorenzo
de Medici, on which he based the
figure of Procris.
Location on the map
