Life Of Achilles: Painting Analysis

Walking through the museum of art, I instantly became mesmerized by such beautiful grandeur. There were a lot of paintings that caught my eye, one of them being Achilles Dipped into the River Styx, a painting done by Peter Paul Rubens with the help of his assistants. What stood out to me the most about this painting was the unique composition and the subject within it. This painting was actually a model for the first scene in the tapestry series Life of Achilles, the last tapestry series Rubens created. There are many aspects to this painting that really do amaze me, from the unique composition, to the subject it holds, and the cultural background in which it was created. At first glance, what caught my eye was the illumination of the woman dipping the baby into the river. Rubens use of dark and hazy colors in the background really contrasted well to help give the focal point to the bright act seen in the front. There are many colors at use in this painting: Black, brown, dark blues, and gray are all seen in the background in the mountains and in the gloomy clouds of the

Rubens was influenced by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio the leading artists of the Baroque style. Rubens work became such a demand by the nobility and royalty of Europe, he produced commissions for Duke of Mantua and he was the court painter for Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella, who governed the Southern Netherlands. Rubens work frequently showcases idealization and a sense of realism through the use of his lush brushwork and his recurrent depictions of curvaceous women. The dramatic usage of light to show the dipping of Achilles reflects the Baroque style of the seventeenth century and the painting does well in showing Rubens free brushwork. Rubens became one of the most influential Baroque artist in northern