Hero and Leander, ca. 1605–06
Oil on canvas, 37 3/4 x 50 3/8 in. (95.9 x 128 cm)
Gift of Susan Morse Hilles
1962.25
This painting illustrates the ancient Greek story in which Leander swam the Hellespont for midnight meetings with his beloved Hero, custodian of the doves and sparrows of Aphrodite. On a fatal night of storm he perished in the waves, and the despairing Hero cast herself into the sea to join him in death. The picture is an important example of Rubens's early work in Italy, where he developed his interest in classical and mythological subject matter. From 1600 to 1608 he traveled through Genoa, Mantua, Venice, and Rome, studying the work of the great artists of the preceding century, especially Michelangelo, Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese.
 |
 |
 |