Peter Paul Rubens Greek and Roman Paintings Part 4

 Peter Paul Rubens Greek and Roman Paintings Part 4

Well, I am not going to beat around the bushes too much. Above, we see Prometheus. Basically, he was the only Titan on the side of the Gods. He got angry when the other Titans made fun of his brain smarts. Out of vengeance, he guided the Gods to defeat the Titans. He is mostly known for giving fire to mankind. This fire he stole from the Gods. Here we see Prometheus's punishment. He was to be bound to a rock and a phoenix would eternally devour his liver. In other version, it is a hungry vulture. In Ruben's painting we see a vulture. Close to the bottom left, we see the torch of fire, the symbol of Prometheus. The landscape is rather fancy. To emphasize Prometheus helplessness he gave the Titan a super pumped up body. However, this massive Titan lies helpless. It is a pretty neat 5 star worthy painting.

In the old days, rape meant kidnapping. Well, in this case rape means rape. Basically, we see a scene from an ancient Roman myth. These two guys are twins. I think they might be the wolf mother twins. They fell in love with these two sisters. They where engaged to two other twins. The painting is quite dynamic. The wild horses led by Cupid shows the passion these brothers felt for the ladies. To show off, Rubens painted the ladies in an unusual nude angle. Most of the time the female nudes where frontal. Rubens twisted and contorted their forms for the effect. The background is landscape style of Holland. They made great emphasis on the sky. In any case, this lovely painting deserves 5 stars rating.

You guys, hopefully, are familiar with Roman charity. I spoke about it in a different Rubens blog. This theme was really popular during the Counter Reformation. The maiden stands for the charity of the church that takes care of sinners. The color red is for love and passion. Back here stands for old age and wickedness. I like this version a lot. The maiden looks very tenderly at her old man. You know, during Ruben's time it was usually the daughter that took care of their old man. This image shows a love and devotion that the people of Ruben's time would be familiar with. Truly, this pretty painting deserves 5 stars rating.

The next painting shows the twins Remus and Romulus. They are the founders of Rome. Legend has it that they where raised by a wolf mother. Here a Roman soldier dressed like a knight discovers the twins. Both golden babies look really cute. On the far left, a nymph and her father are watching over the twins. It is interesting how a little bird is bringing food to one of the babies. On the meantime, the wolf is watching over her care. I liked the two fishes near the river. The forest scenery was pretty neat. This pretty painting deserves 5 stars rating.

Saturn is another name for Chronos. His symbol is the scythe. He is the Titan that ate his children. In this painting he is munching on his latest victim. You got to admit that the child's pained face looks realisitc. I can really believe that his old man is eating him. Well, we are all familiar with evil old geezers that such the life out of their young children. Lets move on, 5 stars for Peter Paul Ruben's lovely painting.

Here is a study for the Bacchus painting. It looks really neat. I think it is more of a lithograph. In any case, this little number deserves 5 stars.

The next painting shows a cold Venus and her Cupid. She is trying to get warm while her Cupid prepares the fire. They are in a garden. Behind the bushes I see a lake. I think that is everything worth mentioning. 5 stars worthy.

Most imagine that Zeus was only into chicks. Here he has taken to his crib the beautiful Ganymede. Hera did not mind the new kid. She only cares when Zeus cheats on her with other women. Anyhow, Zeus wore his eagle form to get the guy he liked. He gave Ganymede a permanent position among the Olympians. He is the cup bearer. He pours for them the Ambrosia that renews the God powers of the Olympians. As he arrived, Ganymede received the cup from two goddess. Behind him we see the banquet hall of the Gods. In any case, this Peter Paul Rubens painting deserves 5 stars rating.

Basically, Syrinx was a chaste nymph of Artemis. Pan liked the maiden and used to chase after her. One day he cornered her by the river. She asked the river nymphs for aid. They turned her into hollow water reeds. Pan annoyed took some of those reeds and made himself the instrument we always see him playing. In this painting , Pan has finally caught the nymph. He is taking off part of her dress. She in turn is trying to cover herself. The scenery is really neat. There are a lot of different flowers near the river. The birds are a nice detail. In any case, this painting deserves 5 stars rating.

During ancient Greek times, people fled to the meadows to do whatever they felt like. This couple are like our modern day hippies. Living in the wild and expressing their love whenever they feel like. That strange leg position is called the swan leg maneuver. It was a very popular courting mating ritual during the old days. When you see in painting someone with their legs as above, you can pretty much tell what is going to happen next. Pretty cute painting if you ask me. In this one, it was the main who initiated the courtship. Whoever has the leg locked highest is the one who began the courtship. The maiden seems to be pushing the shepherd away. Yet with her leg, she has completed the swan leg maneuver. Thus, she is playing hard to get. In any case, this lovely painting deserves 5 stars rating.

In this painting, we see Peace and Abundance. Peace is the maiden in golden. Abundance is the maiden with the fruits and the red and blue dress. Interesting enough, those are the colors of the Virgin Mary. Behind them, we see a drawing of the Baldacchino of the Vatican. This seems to allude that the Catholic church seems to be at peace with the world. Like these two loving maidens, they finally calmed down... for the time being. Well, lets move right along. This pretty painting deserves 5 stars rating.

This is the aftermath of Perseus epic battle against the Kraken. He is being crowned by Victory. Some cherub helpers took off his war helmet and Medusa shield. They are also tending to Pegasus. Andromeda is also being clothed by the cherubs. Perseus seems to be in the middle of one of those infamous, " I saved you, Princes" speeches. Rescuing maiden's in distress is an ancient tradition. These days women have to help themselves. At the feat of Perseus we see the dead Kraken. Quite the ugly little bugger. Anyhow, this little number deserves 5 stars rating.

In this version, Perseus has just won. He is freeing Andromeda. She looks very happy to be set free by a handsome stud. One of the cherubs is introducing Andromeda to Perseus. The other kid is holding the torch of Victory. In the background, we see the sea. I like Perseus black Legionnaire armor. By the far bottom left, we see the Medusa shield and Perseus helmet. I think that is everything worth mentioning. 5 stars for the wonderful Peter Paul Rubens.

By now, you figured out that the Perseus and Andromeda theme was really popular. Again, we see Perseus, the cherubs and Pegasus. Those Cherubs are like our modern day chibis. They where there just to be cute. We all like small cute babies. 5 stars rating for Rubens.

In the old days, still life where just starting to get popular. However, many where still reluctant to just paint fruits alone. The main focus of the painting is the Fruits Basket. It appeals to our sense of sight and taste. The satyr and the girl are there just for fun. If you notice, the fruits are grapes and pomegranates. The grapes stand for drunkenness and the pomegranate for the original sin. Put two and two together and you get quite the party. Needless to say, we all know what both these weirdos are about to do. In any case, Peter Paul Rubens gets 5 stars rating for this odd couple.

The theme of this painting is rather simple. Here Bacchus is courting Venus. She however is not into the drunk guy. Her little Cupid is leading her away from him. As per tradition, Bacchus is offering her gifts to  melt away her cold heart. He first offered her gold. She disliked them, we see them discarded on the ground. Now, Bacchus and his attendants are offering Venus his harvest. One of the servants of Bacchus is looking directly at the viewer. Thus, it engages us with the painting. Truly, it deserves 5 stars rating.

For being a simple sketch, this little number is quite elaborate. Here we see several Olympians. On the top right, I see Zeus and Hera. The old geezer and the lady are Time and Truth. I feel bad for Time. He is always having to rescue his little girl. It is an interesting concept. In any case, this painting deserves 5 stars rating 

In this painting, several Cherubs are tending to the Ceres statue. She is the goddess of grain and Summer. She represents the abundance of summer. These kids are adorning the statue with a wreath of fruits. They are her symbol. Rubens mimic here the fashion that the Greeks loved to depict their statues. She has a classical  contraposte stance. The kids, however, are more Hellenistic. I think that is everything worth mentioning. 5 stars for this lovely painting. 

The story goes that Terseus had raped this maiden. When she had spoken out against his crime. He cut the head of her baby. Her sisters in revenge had him eat the head of his son for dinner. Now, the furies are confronting him with the head of the baby. You got to admit that this is one seriously morbid story. The blonde maiden is the mother. The woman behind her is a fury. Pretty creepy if you ask me. Let us end this blog in this sour note. You got to admit that this last painting was pretty cool. Those Greek guys where nuts. 5 stars for those guys. Then again, weird things like that must have happen enough times that they would become part of their religion.