Tereus, King of Thrace and wife of Procne, raped his sister-in-law, Philomela, cutting out her tongue in order to avoid being denounced. But when Philomela weaves a tapestry, her sister Procne discove [+]
Mercury, the son of Jupiter and Maya, bears his characteristic attributes as the gods´ messenger: a winged hat and shoes, as well as the caduceus, a hazel wand with two serpents wound around it, which [+]
According to Ovid (Metamorphosis, book V), in order to avoid her husband Jupiter´s infidelities, the goddess, Juno, converted the nymph, Io, into a lamb and called on Argos, the shepherd, to look afte [+]
Portrayed as an old man in accordance with the conventional method that was faithful to prevailing iconographic precepts, in his right hand the god Saturn clasps a scythe, his inveterate attribute, us [+]
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 [+]
Rubens combines various subjects in this work. The figure of Saint Joseph sleeping in a landscape alongside a grazing donkey, and the Virgin Mary sitting on a boulder with her son refer to the rest on [+]
The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus of Ephesus (540-470 B.C.), wears a black tunic and leans on a stone, weeping. He embodies the idea of a tragic sense of life, thinking about the future form a lonely [+]
The Cardinal-Infante is depicted in full body armor, with a black hat, a staff and a red sash. He is portrayed as a general of the Spanish Armies during the Battle of Nördlingen when, in 1634, th [+]
Like Fortuna (P1674) and the Marriage of Peleus and Thetis (P1634), the Rape of Hippodamia was part of the massive cycle of mythologies designed by Peter Paul Rubens in 1636-37 for the Torre de la Par [+]
Democritus of Abdera (460-370 B.C.) is the pictorial pendant of Heraclitus (P01680) as well as his philosophical counterpoint. Wearing bright colors, he laughs sarcastically while contemplating a glob [+]
This canvas depicts the death of the Roman philosopher Seneca, who was accused of treason and obliged by Nero to commit suicide in the year 65AD. It emphasises the values of Stoicism, an influential c [+]
Saint John is depicted with his customary symbols, a cross with a ribbon bearing the motto “Lamb of God”. Indeed, there is a lamb beside him, which the Christ Child tenderly pets. The fountain on the [+]
This work depicts an episode from the life of Rodolfo I (1218-1291), founder of the Hapsburg Dynasty. While hunting with his page, Regulo de Kyburg, Rodolfo met a priest and a sexton who were taking t [+]
Eve accepts the forbidden fruit from the hands of the devil, who is half child and half serpent. Sitting on the roots of the tree of Good and Bad, Adam tries to stop her. This is a copy of a painting [+]
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 [+]
Peter Paul Rubens executed this painting between 1636 and 1637 on a commission from Philip IV for the Torre de la Parada. The decoration of this royal hunting pavilion, in which other artists such as [+]
Alberto de Austria, the sovereign prince of the Low Countries, is dressed in black and sits under a canopy indicating that this is a court portrait. Unlike the customary indoor portraits, this one is [+]
Dressed completely in black, with a widow´s headdress and simple jewelry, Marie de Medici is portrayed as the Queen Mother, after having governed France as a Reagent from 1610 to 1617. As one of Ruben [+]