The Art of Peter Paul Rubens in 3 Mythological Paintings

Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) began his artistic apprenticeship at the age of 14 in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. He established himself as an independent painter already in 1598, in the guild of St. Luke, the Antwerp painters’ guild. Over time he became one of the most successful Baroque artists and a key figure, almost a symbol par excellence, of the Baroque.

One of the moments that marked his artistic trajectory and his art was in 1600 when he undertook a trip to Italy. During this journey, he explored the classical, Greco-Roman world, which had fascinated him forever. Rubens was a keen collector of classical works and sculptures. It is known that after his return to Antwerp, he brought home a large collection of classical sculptures. Thanks to his travels to Italy and his earlier education, Rubens acquired broad training as a humanist and became a great connoisseur of classical antiquity and its myths.

1. Capturing the Moment: The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus

This is a fully Baroque painting! If Baroque painters are known for anything, it is for their desire to capture the climax of an event, the very moment of the highest intensity. This painting, as if it were a photographic snapshot, captures the exact moment when Castor and Pollux kidnap Leucippus‘ daughters.

These two mythological characters known as the Dioscuri were born from an egg laid by their mother, Leda, after she had been raped by Zeus who had turned her into a swan. Despite being born from the same egg and having the same mother, the Dioscuri did not have the same father. Pollux, who was immortal, was the son of the god Zeus, while Pollux was the son of Tyndareus, king of Sparta and Leda’s husband.

As in a Baroque apogee, we see the contorted bodies creating movement and dynamism, comprising all the tension of the instant. Rubens continues to build the work from masses of color and constructs the composition in the form of an ascending diagonal. Also typical of the style is the will to transmit emotions: we see the faces of Dioscuri, full of decision and rage, that contrast with the frightened and fearful faces of the two princesses.

2. Light and Shadows: Orpheus and Eurydice

An element that could not be missing in the Baroque is the chiaroscuro, the play of light and shadow, the contrast between darkness and luminosity.

A perfect example of this is Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus, who is always represented with his lyre, was the son of Apollo, the god of music and the arts, and Calliope, the muse of poetry. Orpheus was married to the beautiful nymph Eurydice. One day, Eurydice was bitten by a snake, died, and was taken to the underworld. Because of his immense love, Orpheus decided to risk his life and go down to the underworld to rescue his beloved. Once there, he asked Persephone and Hades, the rulers of the underworld, if he could free his beloved and take her to the world of the living.

Seeing Orpheus’ desperation, Hades gave him permission, but on one condition: he could not turn to look at Eurydice until they were both outside and fully covered by light. Unfortunately, when they were almost at the end of the road and Eurydice was only one foot short of being entirely covered by the sun, Orpheus turned to see if his beloved was following him. Thus, he saw Eurydice vanish before his eyes and remain forever in the world of the dead.

Peter Paul Rubens chooses the perfect subject to play with light and shadow. We are presented with a tenebrous world, shrouded in darkness with the rulers of the underworld, Hades, and Persephone with Cerberus lying at their feet. In the background we can see a glimpse of an architectural composition with flames coming out of Hades, contrasting with the darkness and adding drama to the scene. Again, the painter presents the exact moment when Orpheus is turning his head and looking backward. In the center of the composition, the focus of the light is Eurydice. Rubens constructs her figure as if it were a Venus Pudica. The luminous white of her body and the almost transparent silk tunic she’s wearing, contrast with the general darkness of the painting.

3. Exuberant Women and Movement: The Three Graces

All artists have something representative in their work. It is impossible to talk about Van Gogh without talking about the Sunflowers, to talk about Velázquez without mentioning Las Meninas, or to talk about Peter Paul Rubens without talking about his voluptuous ladies. Honestly, I believe that if Rubens were our contemporary, he would be the main advocate of the “body positive” movement. Lush, wide-hipped women with plump bodies parade in his canvases. This model of the female body was a sign of wealth, social status, and good health at the time. An example of this is the famous Three Graces, one of Rubens’ most representative paintings. Aglaea, Thalia, and Euphrosyne were the three daughters of Zeus.

In his masterpiece, Rubens places the three Graces in an idyllic setting, in a lush environment full of garlanded flowers.  Rubens gives great importance to the unity of the group. The women appear with their hands intertwined as well as a veil that seems to unite them. Something transcendental is the use of the curved lines generating movement, similar to the Praxitelean curve of classical sculptures, in addition to the fact that the ladies have one foot more advanced than the other, signaling that the dance is about to begin.