The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus
|
| The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus |
|---|
| Peter Paul Rubens , around 1618 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 224 × 210.5 cm |
| Alte Pinakothek Inv. 321 |
The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus is a painting by Peter Paul Rubens from around 1618 . The picture was acquired by Elector Johann Wilhelm von der Pfalz in Antwerp before 1716 and exhibited in the Gemäldegalerie Düsseldorf . The painting reached Munich via Mannheim in 1805/06. It is now in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich .
Motif
The moment of the kidnapping of the Leucippids Hilaeira and Phoibe, the daughters of King Leucippus , by the Dioscuri Castor and Pollux is recorded . The mortal Castor, the horse tamer, can be recognized by his protective armor and has direct eye contact with the daughter his brother is lifting. The immortal Pollux, the boxer, is shown with a bare upper body. The dioscures can also be identified by the behavior of the horses. Castor's horse, supported by a putto , remains calm, while Pollux's horse climbs up. The putto's black wings can be seen as an indication of Castor's fate. The assignment of Hilaeira and Phoibe to the depicted female figures is not clear. They are not identified by special attributes.
In this painting Peter Paul Rubens shows his mastery of depicting a multitude of figures in a strongly moving, dramatic plot. None of the characters in the painting are underrated. He also succeeds in combining the various movements of the individual figures into a single circular movement of the group. The painter depicted a fox and a gray horse as horses. The contrasts are remarkable: dark hair and skin in men, light hair and skin in women.
Loriot sketch
The picture plays a central role in the sketch Marriage Advice by the German humorist Loriot . The marriage counselor played by Evelyn Hamann asks the couple played by Loriot and Ingeborg Heydorn to describe the picture, whereupon the husband sums it up with the words “Two men give two women riding lessons”. The wife then comments on the picture with “More so vacation, with riding and so” and the husband adds “The men are somehow helpful to the women”.
literature
- Old Pinakothek. Selected Works ; [ed. from the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, catalog authors: Marcus Dekiert , Nina Schleif], Pinakothek-DuMont, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-8321-7592-4 .
- Rolf H. Johannsen: 50 classic paintings. The most important paintings in art history . Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 2001, ISBN 3-8067-2516-0 .
