On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P01658
- Author
- Rubens, Peter Paul (Flemish)
- Title
- The Rape of Hippodame, or Lapiths and Centaurs
- Chronology
- 1636-1638
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 182 cm x 290 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- No
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
During the wedding banquet of
Pirithous, king of the Lapiths,
Eurythus and other centaurs sought
to kidnap the bride. The groom's
friend, Theseus, leaped into the
fray to save her, starting a bloody
battle that ended in defeat for the
centaurs.
Taken from Ovid (Metamorphosis,
book XII), this story tells of a
battle between man's animal and
rational natures. Rubens chooses a
freize-like composition, ordering
the figures in a way similar to the
relief sculptures of Antiquity.
This horizontal direction
strengthens the sense of violence,
but the rapid kidnapping of the
young woman, and the furious
reaction by those seeking to rescue
her.
This work was commissioned by
Felipe IV's brother, the Cardenal
Infante Fernando, for the Torre de
la Parada, the king's small palace
near Madrid.
