89. Peter Paul Rubens, Juno and Argus, 1610.

Oil on canvas, 249 x 296 cm.

Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne.

 

 

A painter who could paint such a tumult of falling human bodies and such rearing horses could also dare to compete with Michelangelo in the depiction of the Day of Judgment and its related scenes. In this he is also the only one who came near to the Italian, at least in the acting out of dramatic moments. As a colourist Rubens even perhaps overshadowed him. This is seen less in the large picture of the Day of Judgment (1645-1646), carried out under his instructions by his pupils, than in the smaller depiction of the same subject, a masterwork of colour, as well as in the contrast of lighting effects. This work is equal to the Descent into Hell of the Damned (early seventeenth century). Besides Michelangelo, no other painter had such a great knowledge of the human body and at the same time so much visual power as Rubens.

This knowledge of the human body inspired him especially to depict scenes from Graeco-Roman mythology in which he not only satisfied his own tastes but also those of his sponsors and patrons. Like Michelangelo, Rubens’ mythological figures are larger than life. He loved roughness and massiveness and luxuriated in the unfolding of lush scenes full of bright colours. Rubens’ fondness for substantial masses of blond femininity had earlier had a repulsive rather than an attractive effect on some viewers, especially in certain pictures where he depicted this subject matter almost without regard to the sensitive and puritanical feelings of the times. From an artistic point of view he created something wonderful in his works, as can easily be seen in the Robbery of the Daughters of the Leukippos (c. 1618-1620) or The inebriated Silen also painted around this time.