Triumph of the victor

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The Coronation of the Virtuous Hero (Triumph of the Victor) (Peter Paul Rubens)
The coronation of the virtuous hero (triumph of the victor)
Peter Paul Rubens , around 1613-14
Oil on canvas
Wilhelmshöhe Castle

The Coronation of the Virtuous Hero , also known as “Triumph of the Victor”, is an early Baroque painting by the Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens . The picture painted with oil paints on canvas is part of the permanent exhibition in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Kassel 's Wilhelmshöhe Palace . The Rubens expert Hans Gerhard Evers called the early work of Peter Raul Rubens "almost a doctrine of the state".

Image description

In the center of the picture stands a Roman general as a virtuous hero who has put down the uproar of discord . The discord is represented by a dead man with snake hair on the ground and by a barbarian tied up on the right. Behind the winner stands the genius of unity with a bundle of crossbow arrows tied together, symbolizing peace. The genius is at the same time the guardian and keeper of religion. In addition, this can be traced from an art-historical point of view through the altar and the eternal fire in the immediate vicinity of the Genius. The hero of virtue is wreathed with the victory laurel by Nike , the goddess of victory, shown on the left .

The only reference to the Habsburg dynasty is a red-white-red flag behind the altar . The rifle guild hereby discreetly expresses its loyalty to the House of Habsburg .

history

The painting, which shows all the stylistic features of an early Baroque image in its bright colors, was created in 1613/14. The painting was commissioned by the Antwerp St. Georgs Rifle Guild for their ballroom. The picture was allegorically homage to the House of Habsburg .

Landgrave Wilhelm VIII (Hessen-Kassel) acquired the unsigned painting between 1730 and 1760 for his painting collection of the Dutch school for the picture gallery in Bellevue Palace in Oberneustadt in Kassel. Through the Peace of Tilsit in 1807, Kassel became the capital of the Kingdom of Westphalia , represented by King Jérôme Bonaparte . In 1807 the painting was abducted under Napoleonic occupation and was in the possession of the French emperor Napoléon Bonaparte . The painting was exhibited in the Imperial Coronation Hall in Paris . In 1813 the Russian general Czerniczew forced Jérôme Bonaparte to flee. Negotiations began about the return of the stolen paintings, in which the legation secretary Jacob Grimm was instrumental in the return of the Rubens painting. In December 1815 the painting returned to Kassel. From 1878 to 1943 the hero of virtue was in the Neue Galerie at the "Schönen Aussicht" in Kassel. During the Second World War , the painting of Wilhelmshöhe Palace was outsourced. Wilhelmshöhe Palace was badly damaged in World War II. From 1956 the picture was shown in the emergency quarters of the State Museum and since April 1974 in the newly established Corps de Logis of Wilhelmshöhe Palace.

literature

  • Old Masters Palace Wilhelmshöhe Kassel . Georg Westermann Verlag, Braunschweig 1982, pp. 38–45.
  • Eduard Brauns: Hiking and travel guide through North Hesse and Waldeck . A. Bernecker Verlag, Melsungen 1971, p. 20 u. 21st
  • Friedhelm Häring Hans, Joachim Klein (ed.): DuMont art travel guide Hessen . DuMont Buchverlag Cologne, 8th edition 1988, p. 56.
  • Jürgen Weishaupt: Kassel treasures . Publisher Thiele & Schwarz, Kassel 1981, p. 8 u. 66.

Coordinates: 51 ° 18 ′ 54 "  N , 9 ° 24 ′ 58"  E