Diana the huntress is resting with her court of Nymphs in a clearing in the woods when she is attacked by a group of Satyrs. Rubens turned this painting into a virtuoso exercise in composition. In the [+]
Two pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem meet a traveler, whom the invite to dinner. When their unknown guest blesses the bread on the table, they recognize that he is Christ resurrected. This story is [+]
On a number of occasions, Peter Paul Rubens partially overpainted finished pictures. He did this to paintings by his own hand, such as Nymphs and Satyrs (P1666), which he retouched and enlarged twenty [+]
In this picture, the setting epitomises the classical concept of a Locus amoenus ("pleasant place") which developed from the time of Homer and referred to an ideal place for sensual being, with flowin [+]
When Rubens visited the Spanish court in Madrid from late August 1628 until April 1629, he copied many of the numerous paintings by Titian in the royal collection. He was seduced by the radical techni [+]
A posthumous portrait of Felipe II wearing full body armor, a cape and a hat and riding a horse. Victory crowns him with laurels. The background alludes to a battle, probably that of San Quentí [+]
The Virgin sits with the Christ Child in the midst of grandiose classical architecture. She is surrounded by numerous saints in various positions. Above her, some angels prepare to crown her as Queen [+]
Felipe III´s daughter, Anne of Austria, married young Louis XIII in 1615. She is depicted wearing black, French-style clothing, seated under a green canopy that is embroidered with fleurs de lis from [+]
As punishment for the vanity of Cassiopeia, who thought herself more beautiful than the Neriads, Poseidon, god of the seas, sent a monster to the kingdom of Ethiopia. Its fury could only be detained i [+]
As Homer tells it in The Iliad, Paris the shepherd, son of Priam, had to decide with of the three goddesses —Juno, Venus or Minerva— was the most beautiful, and give her the golden apple Mercury he ha [+]
Rape of Europa is a faithful copy made by Peter Paul Rubens in Madrid after an original by Titian. It shows the Phoenician princess Europa after she was abducted by Zeus, who had taken on the form of [+]
As Ovid tells in his Metamorphosis (book VIII, 260-444), the goddess Diana sent a giant wild boar to ravage the kingdom of Calydon. The king´s son, Meleager, and his beloved Atalanta organize a hunt w [+]
According to Jacopo de la Voragine´s Golden Legend, Saint George slew the dragon that was terrorizing the people of Silene, saving a princess in peril. In this painting, the Christian hero rides a liv [+]
Rubens painted this scene for Philip IV of Spain. It shows Hercules fighting with the dragon which guarded the Garden of Hesperides, to where the hero had travelled in search of the golden apples that [+]