01 Work, The art of War, Pieter Paul Rubens' The Battle of the Amazons, with Footnotes

Circle of Pieter Paul Rubens (Siegen1577-Antwerp1640)

The Battle of the Amazons, c. about 1630

Oil on canvas

112 x 158 frame 130 x 176

Private collection

For sale for 36 000 € in Jan 2024

The tangle of naked bodies, some mutilated, gives the idea of the extreme violence used in battle and the terrified expressions of the horses are of rare intensity. Their anguished gazes are the most exciting moment of the spectacular composition. The author of this great work demonstrates all his pictorial abilities by giving a great sensation of movement and volume to all the protagonists. More on this painting

Born on June 28, 1577, Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens was one of the most celebrated and prolific artists in Europe during his lifetime as well as the entire Baroque era. His patrons included royalty and churches, and his art depicted subjects from religion, history and mythology. Known for such works as "The Descent from the Cross," "Wolf and Fox Hunt," "Peace and War," "Self-Portrait with Helena and Peter Paul" and "The Garden of Love," Rubens's style combined a knowledge of Renaissance classicism with lush brushwork and a lively realism. He died in 1640. More on Peter Paul Rubens

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02 Works, The Art of War, Hercules and Minerva Fighting Mars by Peter Paul Rubens and Victor Wolfvoet the Younger, with footnotes

Wolfoet, Victor II (1612-1652)

Allegory of War, c. 1630s - 1640s

Oil on canvas

67x89 cm

Hermitage Museum

Minerva, protector of peace, assisted by Hercules, does not hesitate to throw herself against Mars, the god of war ready to massacre a woman with her child, under the gaze of Jupiter on his eagle. In the freedom of treatment and the science of movement we find the genius of an erudite and inventive artist for whom mythological allusions had no secrets' Catherine Loisel

Victor Wolfvoet (II) or Victor Wolfvoet the Younger (1612 – 1652), was a Flemish art dealer and painter of history and allegorical paintings. His artistic output was heavily influenced by Peter Paul Ruben

Wolfvoet the Younger was born in Antwerp as the son of Victor Wolfvoet the Elder, a painter and art dealer. His father was probably his teacher. He became a member of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke around 1644-5. Some sources refer to Wolfvoet as a pupil of Rubens.

He married in 1636. His 1652 will, which he made not long before his death, states that he was the widower of Elisabeth Mertens. Victor Wolfvoet died in Antwerp on 23 October 1652 leaving one daughter, Livina Wolfvoet.

The artist's estate comprised a substantial collection of artworks of seven hundred items. The inventory of his estate lists twenty sketches by Rubens, including several designs for the ceilings of the Carolus Borromeus Church in Antwerp and six bozzetti for the Triumph of the Eucharist tapestry series. There are also sketches by other artists, many unattributed sketches and framed grisailles, and a number of sketches after Rubens. Some of the sketches were likely in Wolfvoet's own hand, like his copies after Rubens' Abraham and Melchizedek and Manna from Heaven both now in the Mauritshuis, The Hague. The large collection of works has been regarded as evidence that the artist may also have been active as an art dealer. More on Victor Wolfvoet (II)

Peter Paul Rubens

Hercules and Minerva Fighting Mars, ca. 1632-35

Gouache and brush and brown ink over preliminary drawing in black chalk, on light brown paper

370 x 537 mm

Département des Arts Graphiques du Musée du Louvre, Paris

'In 1630 Rubens offered King Charles I of England the painting representing 'War and Peace' or 'Minerva fighting against Mars'. This work in some way celebrated the diplomatic negotiations in which the artist had participated to avoid a war between Spain, England and France in previous years.

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

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

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01 Painting, The art of War, Peter Paul Rubens, Consequences of War, 1638-1639, with footnotes

Peter Paul Rubens  (1577–1640

The Consequences of War, c. between 1637 and 1638

Oil on canvas

height: 206 cm (81.1 in); width: 342 cm (11.2 ft)

Pitti Palace

Consequences of War, also known as Horror of war, serves as a commentary on a European continent ravaged by the Thirty Years' War, and the artist employed numerous symbols, both contemporary and ancient, to deplore the state of the continent.

Mars the Roman god of war charges with shield and sword as well as breastplate and helmet. The figure's skin and cape are dominated by the color red to further emphasize his identity as the Roman god of war.

Underneath Mars's feet lie a book and a drawing. These represent the manner in which the arts and letters are forgotten and destroyed in the chaos and violence of war.

To the far left of the painting, the Temple of Janus appears with its door ajar. In Ancient Rome, the Temple of Janus would be closed to indicate times of peace while an open door denoted war. 

Venus, the Roman goddess of love endeavors to restrain Mars and maintain peace. Her arm is looped ineffectually around his in a physical gesture. Her expression, meanwhile, plaintively entreaties Mars to stop his charge. More on 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

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.

04 Paintings, The art of War, The Massacre (or Slaughter) of the Innocents, by Gustave Doré, Guido Reni and Peter Paul Rubens, with footnotes

Gustave Doré

Massacre of the Innocents, ca. 1869

Pen, ink and ink wash heightened with white on wove paper

22 × 33 in | 55.9 × 83.8 cm

New York Academy of Art

Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré (6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, printmaker, illustrator and sculptor. Doré worked primarily with wood engraving.

Doré was born in Strasbourg on 6 January 1832. By age five, he was a prodigy troublemaker, playing pranks that were mature beyond his years. Seven years later, he began carving in cement. At the age of fifteen Doré began his career working as a caricaturist for the French paper Le Journal pour rire, and subsequently went on to win commissions to depict scenes from books by Rabelais, Balzac, Milton and Dante.

In 1853, Doré was asked to illustrate the works of Lord Byron. This commission was followed by additional work for British publishers, including a new illustrated Bible. In 1856 he produced twelve folio-size illustrations of The Legend of The Wandering Jew.

Doré's illustrations for the Bible (1866) were a great success, and in 1867 Doré had a major exhibition of his work in London. This exhibition led to the foundation of the Doré Gallery in Bond Street, London. Doré was mainly celebrated for his paintings in his day. His paintings remain world-renowned, but his woodcuts and engravings are where he really excelled as an artist with an individual vision.

Doré never married and, following the death of his father in 1849, he continued to live with his mother, illustrating books until his death in Paris following a short illness. The government of France made him a Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur in 1861. More on Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré

Guido Reni  (1575–1642)

Detail; The Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1611

Oil on canvas

268 × 170 cm (105.5 × 66.9 in)

Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna

Before a landscape bathed in light, but set with dark and heavy architecture, a group of eight adults and eight children (including the putti distributing the palm fronds of victory) has been skilfully arranged. The unusual vertical format, rarely used for this theme, and above all the symmetrical structure of figural counterparts indicate that Reni was particularly interested in a specific problem of composition: that of achieving a balance between centripetal and centrifugal movement while combining them in a static pictorial structure. Reni also seeks to achieve this equilibrium in his expression of effects and in the distribution of colour accents. More on this painting

Guido Reni (4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style. Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. When Reni was about twenty years old he migrated to the rising rival studio, named Accademia degli Incamminati (Academy of the "newly embarked", or progressives), led by Lodovico Carracci. He went on to form the nucleus of a prolific and successful school of Bolognese painters who followed Annibale Carracci to Rome. Like many other Bolognese painters, Reni's painting was thematic and eclectic in style. More on Guido Reni

Peter Paul Rubens  (1577–1640)

The Massacre of the Innocents, c. between 1611 and 1612

Oil on oak panel

height: 142 cm (55.9 in); width: 182 cm (71.6 in) 

Art Gallery of Ontario

Massacre of the Innocents c. 1611 – 12, has always been a popular theme in the visual arts, particularly during the Renaissance, when artists were rediscovering the antiquity and reinterpreting mythological and biblical narratives. The horrific depiction of infanticide ordered by King Herod to prevent the prophesied new King of the Jews taking over the throne was rendered by numerous masters from different epochs. 

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

Peter Paul Rubens  (1577–1640)

Detail; The Massacre of the Innocents, c. between 1611 and 1612

Oil on oak panel

height: 142 cm (55.9 in); width: 182 cm (71.6 in) 

Art Gallery of Ontario

The near-naked soldiers are slaying the babies while the mothers are fiercely trying to save them. The central figure is a woman in blood-red dress falling backwards under the weight of an older woman about to be pierced by the soldier. She is desperately scratching another soldier’s face with her right hand and barely holding the baby with her left. It’s a struggle for survival. A tug of war where the stake is human life. She is pushing away the soldier as he is seen grasping at the baby’s loin cloths almost taking possession of the child. More on this painting

The Massacre of the Innocents is the subject of two paintings by Peter Paul Rubens depicting the episode of the biblical Massacre of the Innocents of Bethlehem, as related in the Gospel of Matthew. 

Peter Paul Rubens  (1577–1640)

The Massacre of the Innocents, circa 1638

Oil on oak panel 

height: 198.5 cm (78.1 in); width: 302.2 cm (118.9 in) Edit this at Wikidata

Alte Pinakothek

The Massacre (or Slaughter) of the Innocents is an incident in the Nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew (2:16–18) in which Herod the Great, king of Judea, orders the execution of all male children who are two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem. Christians venerate them as the first Christian martyrs,[2] but a majority of Herod biographers, and "probably a majority of current biblical scholars" consider the story fabricated or unhistorical

This is followed by a reference to and quotation from the Book of Jeremiah: A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." (Matthew 2:17–18). The relevance of this to the massacre is not immediately apparent, as Jeremiah's next verses go on to speak of hope and restoration. More on The Massacre (or Slaughter) of the Innocents

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.