Sketches 1625

These sketches by Peter Paul Rubens, around 50 x 64 cm, reside in the Louvre, Paris, and offer a glimpse into the world of 17th-century Flemish art. Rubens, a towering figure of the Baroque, masterfully employs oil on canvas to depict mythological scenes of dynamic movement. In this work, Rubens shows figures in the heavens as extensions of earthly political power. The figures are Roman Gods as metaphors for nobility. Rubens was Flemish and the politics of the region at this time were dominated by the Catholic Church, which influenced artistic production by commissioning works that reinforced its authority and values. These kinds of artistic symbols were highly conventional for the time, but progressive ideas about the role of art were beginning to challenge institutions like the Church and the aristocracy. The study of social history, archives, and period documents helps us to comprehend the complex interplay between art, power, and society in Rubens' time.