Triumph of the Catholic Truth 

Peter Paul Reubens created "Triumph of the Catholic Truth" using oil on canvas. Notice the dynamism of the scene, achieved through a diagonal composition that sweeps the viewer's eye from the lower right to the upper left. Rubens masterfully uses light and shadow to create drama and guide our attention. The figures are rendered with a rich, tactile quality. The artist uses specific colour choices as signifiers. The golden hues illuminating Catholic Truth contrast with the darker, earthier tones associated with the defeated figures below. The painting stages the victory of Catholic orthodoxy over heresy. The composition uses contrasting arrangements and colour tones to create a semiotic structure, in which symbols and figures convey specific meanings, with the lion symbolizing strength and dominion. Rubens invites viewers to reflect on the power of visual rhetoric and the ways in which art can be used to promote specific ideas.