On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P01667
- Author
- Rubens, Peter Paul (Flemish)
- Title
- Orpheus and Eurydice
- Chronology
- 1636-1638
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 194 cm x 245 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- No
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
Orpheus descends into the
Underworld to recover his wife,
Eurydice, who died after being
bitten by a serpent. Pluto and
Proserpina, the god and goddess of
the underworld, are so moved by the
music of his lyre that they accede
to his request. The only condition
they impose is that he contain his
desire and not look at his beloved
until they have both fully departed
the underworld.
On the basis of this story from
Ovid's Metamorphosis (book X,
1-59), Rubens designs a very
balanced painting. On the right are
Pluto and Proserpina, whose gesture
warns Orpheus of the conditions of
their agreement. Below them is
Cerberus, the dog who guards Hell.
On the left, the deathly white body
of Eurydice, still showing the
serpent's bite, contrasts with the
living body of Orpheus. He is
depicted at the very moment when
his feeling of love provokes him to
look back at his beloved. This is
just before she dissolves into
smoke because he has not heeded the
God's warning.
In making this painting for the
Torre de la Parada, Rubens based
some figures on earlier models.
Pluto is based on a figure by
Michelangelo which Rubens had
copied in his notebook during his
trip to Italy, while the Eurydice's
chaste gesture is based on some
sculptures from Antiquity.
