Peter Paul Rubens, 1577 - 1640
Minerva protects Pax from Mars ('Peace and War'), c. 1629-30
Oil on canvas
203.5 x 298 cm
The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London
Minerva drives away Mars, god of war, in Rubens' powerful anti-war painting, a visual plea for peace between England and Spain in 1630, presented as a gift to Charles I from Philip IV
The painting was probably executed in England in 1629-30, illustrating Rubens's hopes for the peace he was trying to negotiate between England and Spain in his role as envoy to Philip IV of Spain. Rubens presented the finished work to Charles I of England as a gift.
The central figure represents Pax (Peace) in the person of Ceres, goddess of the earth, sharing her bounty with the group of figures in the foreground. The children have been identified as portraits of the children of Rubens's host, Sir Balthasar Gerbier, a painter-diplomat in the service of Charles I.
To the right of Pax is Minerva, goddess of wisdom. She drives away Mars, the god of war, and Alecto, the fury of war. A winged cupid and the god of marriage, Hymen, lead the children (the fruit of marriage) to a cornucopia, or horn of plenty. The satyr and leopard are part of the entourage of Bacchus, another fertility god, and leopards also draw Bacchus's chariot. Two nymphs or maenads approach from the left, one brings riches, the other dances to a tambourine. A putto holds an olive wreath, symbol of peace, and the caduceus of Mercury, messenger of the gods. More om this painting
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (28 June 1577
– 30 May 1640) was a Flemish Baroque painter. A proponent of an
extravagant Baroque style that emphasized movement, colour, and sensuality,
Rubens is well known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits,
landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects.
In addition to running a large studio in Antwerp that
produced paintings popular with nobility and art collectors throughout Europe,
Rubens was a classically educated humanist scholar and diplomat who was
knighted by both Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England. More Sir Peter Paul
Rubens
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