On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P01681
- Author
- Rubens, Peter Paul (Flemish)
- Title
- Silenus or a Faun
- Chronology
- 1636-1638
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 181 cm x 64 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
In classical mythology, Silenus was
the guardian of forests. He was
supposed to raise Bacchus when the
latter was a child. Rubens depicts
him in the customary manner: with
goat ears and a scraggly beard,
alluding to his condition as a wild
being, and clothed only in
buckskin. The mask on which he is
leaning recalls his ties to the
world of theater, as a Bacchic and
festive deity.
Rubens once again drew on ancient
sculpture for this figure, whose
movement recalls some of
Praxiteles' works, yet the closest
model is an engraving by Hendrick
Goltzius (1558-1617), from which he
took the position of the
hands.
This work was made for the Torre de
la Parada, a small royal palace
near Madrid, and was often thought
to be a portrait of the
philosopher, Democritus.
Location on the map
