Rubens
Fundamental Paintings to Understand the History of Painting
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The Consequences of War (1637-38), Rubens
Oil on canvas. 206 cm x 345 cm
Pitti Palace. Florence, Italy
Peter Paul Rubens is one of the Baroque painters par excellence.
We do not distinguish him by his extreme chiaroscuro, as we distinguish Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and other great Baroque artists. We recognize him immediately by the movement he manages to capture on the canvas (at times furious), by his scenes of exaggerated dramatism, by the skillful treatment of light and by the striking color and chromatic richness that he takes from his admired Venetian artists (Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto).
His paintings have those characteristics that define the period: a certain artifice in the scene, exaggeration, and theatricality. Each work is a scene that dazzles us with its spectacularity. Everything is tension, contrast, and the sensation that a storm is about to break out, as if something were about to explode. (This is one of the characteristics that differentiates a Baroque work from a Renaissance one, where everything is peace and harmony.)
In this work, Mars advances with his shield and bloody sword, threatening the people with great ruin. Venus, his wife, accompanied by cupids, tries to stop him with caresses and embraces. Mars is accompanied by two monsters: Plague and Famine, inevitable consequences of war.
A work so moving, so strong, so timeless, that 300 years later, it inspired Picasso to convey the horror of war in his Guernica.
Recommended links:
Rubens, Wonderful Example of Baroque Painting.
Characteristic Elements of Baroque Painting.
Artistic Movements I: from Classical Antiquity to Rococo.
Rembrandt, Synonym of Chiaroscuro and Baroque.
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