Peter Paul Rubens Greek and Roman Paintings Part 5

 Peter Paul Rubens Greek and Roman Paintings Part 5

This painting relates to the birth of the founder of Athens. Basically, Mars hated Athena's guts. Since Athena was a Virginal Goddess he wanted to have a baby with her to get revenge. He tried jumping her, however, his seed was spilled on the ground. Instead, it was Gaea who bore Mars' kid. Athena took pity on the kid an took him to her city. She had forbidden the daughters of the king from opening the basket where the baby laid. However, the maidens driven by curiosity opened the basket. They were appalled to see that the baby had a snake's tail

In this painting, the maidens have just opened the basket. The fountain behind them shows a depiction of Gaea, the mother of the child. A child is asking his mama about the baby. The old woman is actually Athena in disguise. She liked to dress up like an old woman whenever she came to the human world. She is looking at the viewer. Behind the maiden in red, we see a statue of Pan. He stands for madness. He is there to allude to the madness that is about to befall the maidens that disobeyed Athena's orders. In any case, this lovely painting of Rubens deserves 5 stars rating.

This next painting shows a very drunk Hercules. This is like the 5th Drunk guy painting I see. Here the strong man Hercules is so drunk he can barely stand. At his feet we some flutes, bells and grapes. These items where a common sight in Bacchus's Bacchanals. The Bacchanal was a party in the honor of Bacchus. A lot of people got drunk and acted crazy. Here Hercules is being held up by two fauns. Another one is wearing his lion pelt while a cherub kid takes his club. In any case, this painting deserves 5 stars rating.

This painting depicts the tragic demise of Phaeton. Phaeton was the son of Apollo. However, none of his human friends believed him. One day, he asks his father to lend him his carriage. Thus, all would see that he was the son of Apollo. While he was riding it, he lost control of the horses. Thus, they brought the sun in an erratic path. In this painting, Phaeton is scorching the constellations. They are fleeing the burning sun. To knock him down, Zeus had to smite him with his lightning bolt. Only then was Apollo able to calm his horses down. The man wearing red, falling from the carriage, is Phaeton. The horses are all over the place. The Constellations are frightened. Overall, it is a pretty dramatic painting. Rubens ,thus, deserves 5 stars rating.

In this painting, we see Constantine overlooking the ruins of the Byzantium Empire. He choose the place as the new Capital because it was close to the Asia, the Persians and Italy. Thus, it was at an strategic location. Here he is talking with two Greek slaves. They are going over the floor plans of the new city. Behind him, one of his advisers is looking on. Constantine is in the traditional Roman stance that the politicians took when giving a speech. Above the group, we see an eagle biting a snake. It also has some grain. The eagle is the sign of Zeus and of power. The snake is treachery. The grain stands for prosperity. Thus, might has overcome the enemies of Constantine and prosperity will reign over this ruined city. In the background, we see the workers rebuilding. I think it is a pretty cool painting. Truly, Peter Paul Rubens deserves 5 stars rating.

This next painting show The Four Continents.  They are Europe, Asia, Africa and America. By now they had already discovered America. The Crocodile represents the River Nile.  The Tigers are more of an Asian thing, specially in India. One got attacked often by Tigers in India. Those with the water basins represent other rivers. I am not too certain about the symbolism in this painting. I think the black chick is also a representative of Africa. She is being hugged by the River Nile. The other guy next to her, with his hand on his face, is a representation of a Native American. He is the God of "El Rio Plate" or the Silver river. The old geezer at the far right is Danube. He is a Greek River God. This is all I have to say about this elaborate little mess. As usual, there are a few cherubs decorating the scene. Pretty neat. 5 stars for Peter Paul Rubens.

In this painting, we see a very proud Mars. He is being crowned by Victory. He is sitting over his vanquished foes. He has his sight over the horizon in a most epic fashion. His sword is resting on the lap of Victory.  His black armor looks really cool. The guy in the foreground has the blueish shadow of death. The guy behind him is still a live. One of the captives is kissing Mars's leg. On his right side, we see Cupid cowering behind him. There is no room for love in an epic Victory. I like the symbols in the carriage. It is a snake twisting around some fruits. Kinda like the abundance of death. Pretty cool if you ask me. In any case, this cool Baroque painting deserves 5 stars rating.

This lovely painting, show The Wedding of Thetis. Basically, Thetis has just heard the oracle's terrible prophecy.  She hears the terrible Destiny of her Achilles. Thetis is on the far right, with her husband. The oracle is beside her. I like the other guest at the wedding. On the center of the painting, we see Cupid and her mama Venus. Besides her, wearing an armor, is Phallas Athena. Everyone in the table looks shocked at hearing the terrible news. In any case, this lovely painting of Peter Paul Rubens deserves 5 stars rating.

Above, we see The Battle of the Amazons. I hope that by now you are already familiar with this painting.  Like any regular battle, it is simply chaotic. By now, the ranks of the Amazons have sundered. They are being flaked, cornered in all directions. The lances in the background allude to their certain demise. In the foreground, we see a large number of dead Amazons. One Roman guy is taking on two Amazons. Well, lets just move right along. Peter Paul Rubens gets another 5 stars rating.

War is not pretty. Usually, it is the women who suffer the most from Wars. In this The Consequences of War painting, we see a visual representation of that sad fact. In the center, we see Mars's intercepted by Venus and her Cupid. She is warning him of the results of the war he rages. Behind her, we see women and children running for their lives. Before Mars, a maiden is cowering next to her dead lover. Next to her, a mother is fleeing with her dead baby. Meanwhile, Hate is beckoning Mars to continue his mad rage. Here Mars lies at a standstill between love and hate. On the meantime, the humans are dying and suffering. Nothing good ever comes of war, regardless of the reasons behind going to war. This mature way of looking at war was brilliantly depicted by Peter Paul Rubens. Truly, he is a 5 star worthy Baroque artist.

In The Council of the Gods, we see democracy working at its best. In the center of this painting, Apollo, Athena and Mars are kicking out all the chaotic elements. Behind them, we see the Council of the Gods. They are all talking and conversing in a rational fashion. The God of the Gods, Zeus is hearing his underlings and taking their advisers into consideration.Their order contrast well with the chaos that is outside their domain. In a sense, the council of the Gods represents a constitutional monarchy. During these days, constitutions where fashionable. Now the kings had a duty toward the people they rule. They could no longer be jerks for the heck of being jerks. The parliament provided a check to their absolute power. In any case, this totally baroque painting of Peter Paul Rubens deserves 5 stars rating.

In this painting, we see Seneca. He was an adviser to Emperor Nero. The problem was that he was a good adviser. Thus, due to his lack of flattering words, Nero put him to death. They sliced his arteries and had him bleed slowly to death. In his last moments, they place him in a bath to wash him in preparation for his demise. As he is dying, one of his scribes is writing his last words. Even at this stage of the game, he kept giving good advises to Nero and Rome in General. The Romans certainly did create a bunch of ingenious executions. What I like best is how this old guy's body looks old, yet strong. It alludes to his younger, more vigorous, years. In any case, this glorious demise deserves 5 stars rating.

In this painting, we again see a Drunk Selenus or Bacchus. Pan in the background is playing his pipes. In the foreground, some kids carry grapes. Lets just hurry. 5 stars rating.

You know, they should have called this painting The Lack of Judgement of Paris. Basically, Athena, Hera and Venus  where competing to see who was the hottest chick in the land. They had earned equal votes in Mount Olympus. Thus, they went to seek an impartial judge to break the tie. This is when they ran into Paris. In his younger years, Paris was a shepherd.  The goddesses saw him tending to his sheep. To swing his judgement they each promised him something. Athena promised him wisdom, Hera offered him a kingdom and Venus offered him the hottest chick in the land.

Paris, lacking wisdom and not caring about his kingdom, choose the hot chick. This hot chick was Helen. When he stole her, it was an unwise choice that lost him his kingdom. In any case, here Paris is giving the apple to Venus. Above her, Victory is crowning her. The audience to the left are Paris's attendants and a few nymphs. To the right, we see the river God of the river that ran near Troy. They are the quiet spectators of Paris's doom. In any case, this lovely painting deserves 5 stars rating.

Frankly, I like this version better. Here we get to see better the pretty forms of the Goddesses. They are each near their symbols. I like how Rubens shows the maidens in 3 different poses. One is frontal, the other is in profile form and the last one we see from behind. They are an interesting study of the female form. Behind Paris,  we see Hermes. He is simply there as an impartial judge. He will legitimize the results of this competition. Interesting enough, they represent three different manners of women handling their forms.Venus sleeps with whatever moves. Athena is celibate and Hera is married. It is food for thought, to say the least. In any case, this painting of Peter Paul Rubens gets a lovely 5 stars rating.

Before Rome became Rome, there was the  eternal rivalry with Carthagen. Carthagen was very similar to Rome. They employed the same battle tactics and then some. In this painting, we see the Roman legionnaire leader Scipion meeting the infamous Hannibal. Hannibal was the army leader of Carthage. Even though the Romans where more, he always found a way to win time and time again. Carthage only lost the war because of the Senate's indecision. Plus, they grew stingy with the money in the end. They decided not to pay the mercenaries from Africa. Thus, since they did not pay what they owned, those highly trained mercenaries turned on them. By the time the Romans arrived, there was hardly any need to fight. Thus, here you have the context of this cool looking painting. I think it got destroyed,stolen or lost. Thus, we only have this black and white textbook version. In any case, Peter Paul Rubens deserves 5 stars rating.

The Rape of Europa is another one of those infamous Zeus romances. Here he turned into a bull to kidnap this chick. Her friends by the shore are shocked. They are wondering where this bull is taking her. Europa herself looks quite distressed. Above her, flies two Cupids. They are readying their arrows to make her fall in love with Zeus. By the water, we see some very ugly fishes and another Cupid. The landscape looks quite realistic. Really neat if you ask me. Anyhow, this lovely painting deserves 5 stars rating.

In the early days, the Romans had a shortage of women. Part of their conquering strategy included taking the women from their enemies. The Sabines where supposedly their allies. However, the Emperor had other plans. He invited the Sabines to the Olympics. When he gave the signal, his guards kidnapped all the unmarried maidens. Here we see the chaos of this terrible tragedy. In the center, a maiden in black and golden is begging the Emperor to show her mercy. On the far left, an old woman is grabbing her young daughter by the leg in a feeble attempt to try to save her. On the far right, a man is getting his girl onto a horse. It really is a sight of utter helplessness. It sucked to be a chick back then. Well, lets just move right along. Lets, just give 5 stars rating to Peter Paul Rubens.

Well, this is the last Peter Paul Rubens Greek Painting. It was a fun ride. However, we are putting closure to this section. The next Rubens blog will focus on his landscapes and then we move on to his Catholic paintings. I will also discuss his family paintings. He is the living proof that it is wonderful to have an army of helpers. It really does help you finish your work quickly. Above is an early draft of the three graces. They are a perfect example of the kinds of women that Rubens liked. Too bad he never got to marry a pretty Turkey like these cuties. Oh, well! Marriage was ,in the end, a business transaction. Only today, are feelings taken into consideration. In any case, this last little number deserves 5 stars rating. I hope that you liked this latest art blog.