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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 foreground, two volumes lead to the rest of the scene: on the left are the hunting trophies attained by the nymphs, and on the right, a reclining nymph with her back to the viewer, one of the most se
In the foreground, Diana holds a bow in her left hand while extracting an arrow from her quiver with the right. The moon appears over her forehead, and behind her, a fragment of the Zodiac includes the sign of Cancer. Sitting at the top, a winged figure gazes toward the heavens.This painting and its companions (P306 to P312) are copies of cartoons for the mosaics at the Chigi Chapel in the Roman c
This panel inlaid with mother-of-pearl executed in New Spain is part of a group of twenty-four pieces that narrate the capture of Mexico.
The island of Saint Christopher (modern-day Saint Kitts) in the Lesser Antilles was invaded by the English and French and recaptured by Spanish forces in 1629. The Spanish expedition was led by Fadrique de Toledo y Osorio, I Marquis of Villanueva de Valdueza and Captain General of the Ocean Fleet. He was accompanied by Fleet General Martín de Vallecilla and Admiral Antonio de Oquendo. After
This episode, which illustrates Hercules’s death, was narrated in great detail by Baltasar de Victoria, who tells how the hero killed Nessus the centaur for having attempted to rape Hercules’s bride, Deianira. After the wedding, when it came time to cross the Evinos River that runs through Aetolia, it could not be forded as the water was quite deep. Nessus the Centaur happed to be there and offere
Francesco Albani was a much favoured pupil of Annibale Carracci. His success was partially due to mythological paintings such as The toilet of Venus (P1) and The judgement of Paris (P2), whose refined and lyrical view of nature helped disseminate the classical ideals of the Carracci`s landscapes.Albani`s The judgement of Paris, c.1650-60, shows the shepherd prince admiring the beauty of three godd
Venus, the Roman goddess of Love and Beauty, is accidentally wounded by one of her son Cupid´s arrows, which triggers her passion for Adonis. This love story ends with the tragic death of the hero. The scene is based on book X of Ovid´s Metamorphoses, one of the most important sources of mythology for artists of that time. The composition and pictorial technique in this work are a fine
Over the course of his career, Jusepe de Ribera Spanish repeatedly explored certain devotional subjects, among them Saint Bartholomew, Mary Magdalene, Saint Jerome, and Saint Sebastian. The latter is a recurring figure whom Ribera depicted both in the traditional manner, pierced by multiple arrows, and in the less-frequent presentation, being cured of the resulting wounds by Saint Irene. Ribera´s
This panel inlaid with mother-of-pearl executed in New Spain is part of a group of twenty-four pieces that narrate the capture of Mexico.
Titian´s first contribution to the Camerino d´Alabastro was prompted by the death in October 1517 of Fra Bartolommeo from whom Alfonso d´Este had commissioned a Worship of Venus one year previously and for which Fra Bartolommeo submitted a sketch. In April 1518, Titian received instructions on the subject matter and format of the work along with a drawing, probably that by Fra Bartolommeo. In Octo
Hercules wades effortlessly across the powerful Euenos River while his wife, the beautiful Deianira, requires the aid of the centaur Nessus to do so. While ferrying her across, the centaur attempts to rape her. In her defense, Hercules mortally wounds Nessus with his arrows, but with his last breath, the centaur tricks Deianira, promising her that if her husband wears his shirt, he will never look
A model for the tapestry on the same subject that belongs to a series of eight about the Greek hero. The Story of Achilles is smaller than other projects by Rubens, but the quality of its sketches, models and tapestries make it one of his most important.Thetis entrusted the education of her son Achilles to the boy´s great-grandfather, the wise centaur Chiron, tutor of gods and heroes, who instruct
Youth portrait of Victor Amadeo II of Savoy (1666-1732) husband of Ana María de Orleans (1669-1728) and brother-in-law, therefore of Queen María Luisa de Orleans. The person portrayed would be disguised as a mythological character, perhaps Apollo. This canvas is one of a group of portraits collected by María Luisa de Orleans (1662-1689), first wife of Carlos II of Spain, which
This painting depicts the battle of Fleurus, near Brussels, which pitted troops from the Catholic League commanded by General Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba against Protestant Union soldiers led by Count Ernst von Mansfeld and Prince Christian of Brunswick. The Catholic League’s victory on August 29, 1622 freed Brussels—governed at that time by Isabel Clara Eugenia—from the threat pose
This panel inlaid with mother-of-pearl executed in New Spain is part of a group of twenty-four pieces that narrate the capture of Mexico.
Jupiter was so taken with Ganymede´s beauty that he transformed into an eagle to carry him off to Mount Olympus, where he became his cup-bearer. Rubens drew this story from the classical poet, Ovid´s Metamorphoses (X, 155-161). He depicts the moment when the eagle catches the young shepherd and lifts him into the air. The diagonal composition has a distinctly ascending sense and the lightening bol
This panel inlaid with mother-of-pearl executed in New Spain is part of a group of twenty-four pieces that narrate the capture of Mexico.
Guido Reni`s painting shows a young Cupid facing the viewer, with the seashore behind him, his left leg bent and left foot resting on a slab of stone. Cupid raises his left hand to a dove and with his right hand holds his bow. The loosened bowstring indicates that he has been disarmed; his remaining arrows lie in a quiver discarded on the ground. The subject appears to be a variation of Love tamed
