Peter Paul Rubens Greek and Roman Baroque Paintings
Peter Paul Rubens Myth Greek Baroque Paintings Other than Godly paintings, Rubens painted pagan Gods. Ever since the renaissance, my...
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Peter Paul Rubens Myth Greek Baroque Paintings
Other than Godly paintings, Rubens painted pagan Gods. Ever since the renaissance, mythical paintings have been extremely popular. The first painting shows the Goddess Thetis and Minerva. Both are sitting on top of globes for some reason. Well, Thetis is more of a minor goddess or a nymph. Her symbol, the row, is by her side. She also wears her queenly crown. She is the ruler of all the ocean water nymphs. Minerva is the goddess of justice. She sports a warrior spear and helmet. She is a warrior goddess, far stronger than Mars. In this scene, Thetis is asking Minerva to do justice for Achilles. Meaning, that the Greeks will loose until Achilles gets his slave back. Truly, this lovely painting deserves 5 star rating.
The next painting features Heraclito Prado. He is a very sad Greek philosopher. He sits in a classical pose of sorrow. He wears black mourning attires. He is meditating on his pains inside a cave. Most high minded people are cavemen. Hehehhehe. In any case, Peter Paul Rubens deserves 5 star rating.
This painting is called "The Peace of Angers". On the floor, we see some fire arms and armor. They are being burned by peace. Behind, her we see some blind furies raging. They wield snakes and fire. An old woman and a young maiden are being led to the image of the virgin. The one leading them is Hermes, messenger of the gods. He is pointing to the Virgin Mary with his caduceus staff. This is a complicated painting. Moreover, its a symposium of Catholicism, contemporary and Greek ideals. The temple looks pretty cool. The clouds look epic as well. In any case, this lovely painting deserves 5 star ratings.
The next painting shows a Roman profile of Tiberius and Agrippina. Agrippina is the one of most importance. For this reason, her profile is the first. She was the second daughter of Emperor Augustus. It so happens that she got in trouble with Tiberius. It was all a horrible bloody roman massacre. She also comes first because she is a women. Rubens had a preference for painting lovely blonde maidens. The profile of Agrippina is quite beautiful. Tiberius is also a handsome devil. In any case, this lovely painting gives Rubens another 5 stars.
The next painting shows the three Graces. These Graces represent the ideals of female beauty. This trio was not sold to anyone. Rubens painted them for his own amusement. It remained in his studio until his death, in the year 1666. I must say that this is a really hot painting. When you are fitly rich you can afford to paint something for your own amusement. These maidens look realistic. Rubens payed a lot of attention to the flesh to make it look real. The effect is perfected in the pressing down of the arms, and the folds of the flesh. This trio are inside the garden of Venus. A golden Cupid statue with a horn is pouring water. I think that is all worth mentioning. Rubens deserves 5 star rating.
This painting is called "Venus Frigida". This means cold Venus. Here we see Venus and her Cupid looking depressing. A Faun with flowers is about to pet Venus. He wishes to distract her from her woes. The stage light only falls on Venus and her Cupid. They stand out against the darkness. The background shows some trees, a river and mount. The sun is about to rise. This is not the usual way to paint Venus. She is hunched in a corner. Her figure is quite idealistic in a down to earth fashion. What I like best is her loose blonde hair. I think that is all worth mentioning. This lovely Venus deserves 5 star rating.
The next painting shows Venus and Adonis. Venus shares this boy toy with Persephone. Adonis is about to depart on his hunt. His hunting dogs are exiting Venus's cart. Behind Venus, two swans are kissing. These birds French kiss like the humans. Venus is detaining him, with the help of her son. It looks very cute. Adonis is gazing upon Venus pleading eyes. He is gently releasing himself from Venus's embrace. The scenery looks pretty cute. In any case, this lovely painting deserves 5 star rating
This painting is called "Venus at her Toilet". In the old days, the toilet was the name given to the place where maidens groomed themselves. They bathed and dressed in their toilets. In this painting Cupid is holding up the mirror for her Mama. Venus hairstyle is up to date with the Baroque Flemish fashion. She is wrapped in a lovely red cashmere coat. Her child has next to him his bow and quiver. The painting has strong chiaroscuro. Its unidentified source of light bears semblance to Caravaggio's stage light effect. This kind of lighting helps you be done quickly with backgrounds. In any case, this Ruben's lovely painting of the goddess of Love deserves 5 star rating.
The next painting shows Venus, Cupid, Bacchus and Ceres. These are the more peaceful deities. Ceres is the goddess of grain. Bacchus of wine. They all have their symbols on them. Ceres has her grain. Venus has her red drapery. Her Cupid his wings and Bacchus his wine and grapes. They are all simply hanging out together with Bacchus. Even the Gods like to relax from time to time. In any case, this lovely painting deserves 5 star rating.
The next painting shows the triumph of truth. Truth is the daughter of Time. Here Time is taking her daughter up to Victory. She is about to be crowned by Zeus and Hera. You see, Truth is always in a bind. Only her father Time, can save her. Time always appears in the form of a winged old man. He is always keeping track of his daughter Truth. I like this painting a lot. It is really cool. Rubens deserves 5 star rating for saving Truth.
The next painting is a modello for a tapestry series. It features events of the life of Achilles. The first painting shows Thetis dipping her son into the River Styx. This will make her son immortal. However, the heel she was using to hold her child was not dipped into the River Styx. Behind her, Lachesis is guiding her. Lachesis is the Fate that measures the length of each person's life. Her symbol is a ball of yarn. Between the Persephone and Hades columns, we see Cerberus. He is in the form of a regular 3 headed dog. On the background, we see Charon ferrying souls across the river Styx. Its a pretty complete painting. In any case, this lovely modello deserves 5 star rating.
In the next painting, Thetis has gone to get Achilles's new armor from Vulcan. Achilles needed a new armor because Hector had taken it from Patroclus' body. Her nymph servants are helping her carry the armor. She is receiving herself the new fancy shield. The column Gods are Hera and Zeus. Between them we seer Vulcan's anvil. Behind Thetis I see a Peacock, that is Hera's symbol. By the Zeus column, we see lighting. I think that is everything worth mentioning. 5 stars for this lovely modello of the Life of Achilles.
The next painting shows Two Satyrs. These beings usually hang out with Bacchus. The first Satyrs has a drunken naughty look. He almost looks like he is about to fall forward. Behind him, his friends is drinking wine. Both do look really drunk. This painting has Satyrs in two poses. One in frontal profile and the other at a 3/4 angel. Its more of a study of drunken faces. In any case, Rubens deserves 5 star rating for this lovely painting.
The next painting has Venus ,again, at her toilette. A black slave is fixing Venus' hair. I love how the mirror is set in a way that we can see Venus' reflection. This painting is arranged in a way the emphasize Venus' lovely golden hair and body. This lovely painting deserves 5 star rating.
The next painting shows Venus wrapped in a Fur Coat. This maiden is actually Rubens second wife. She was 16 when she married the guy. This painting hung in their bed room. Pretty perverted if you ask me. Well, this is a pretty painting. She is wearing only on pearl earring and the fur coat. He copied this from Vermeer. In any case, this lovely painting is 5 stars worth.
The next painting show Pythagoras. He was a Greek Philosopher that Advocated vegetarianism. He was the first western Vegetarian. Beside him, a maiden is cutting down some fruits from the tree. She personifies the healthy vegetarian lifestyle. She got this pretty by eating nothing but fruits. Before her we see a lot of tasty fruits. The all look very yummy. On the right we see the wild vegetarians. In Flemish clothing, we see some guys that are listening to Pythagoras. I like this forest painting a lot. The fruits do look delicious. Truly, Rubens deserves another 5 star rating.
The next painting shows Mars being crowned by Victory or Nike. Here Mars appears as the champion of Virtue. She is sitting next to him. Mars is standing over her in a offensive stance. If anyone tries to harm Virtue he will get grafted like a fish. Those were the good old days, back when war meant something... Victory has the loveliest of hairstyle. Both Virtue and Victory are blonde maidens. As for Mar, he is wearing a black metal plate roman armor. I think he looks very cool. The first guy he defeated was drunkenness. You can tell because near him lies some grapes. Behind them a random person is cowering. 5 stars for Peter Paul Rubens.
The next painting shows the epic fight between Achilles and Hector. It so happens that Achilles threw his spear in the same place that Hector had struck to slay Patroclus. Talk about sweet vengeance. Behind them the armies are raging. The column Gods are Mars and Herakles. Behind Achilles we see Athena in her owl form. Behind Hector soars Apollo. It is a battle among Olympians. On the side of Hector, we see the Trojan walls. On the side of Achilles, we see his doomsday horses. His horses are Gods. The furies spoke through the horses told him that he was going to die in the war. I think that is all worth mentioning. This scene from the life of Achilles deserves 5 star rating.
The last painting shows Democrito and Heraclito. Both of these Greek philosophers are resting on top of the globe. By now, the Europeans accepted the theory that the earth was round. The part of the globe that we can see shows Europe. Anyhow, Democrito represents the government and Heraclito represents the church. Lets just wrap things up. Rubens deserves 5 stars rating. I hope that this post humored you even a little bit.
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