Between 1636 and 1638 Rubens designed over sixty paintings of mythological subjects for the Torre de la Parada, the Royal Hunting Lodge outside of Madrid. In this lecture Margaret D. Carroll, Professor of Art at Wellesley College, argues that Rubens conceived of a number of these works as pairs—for example, the Rape of Hippodamia and the Marriage of Peleus and Thetis in the present exhibition—that served to provoke dialectical reflection on such themes as passion and restraint, order and chaos, chance and reason, and violence and tranquility.
Sunday, October 9, 3:00pm-4:30pm, Michael Conforti Pavilion
Image: Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), Rape of Hippodamia (The Lapiths and the Centaurs) (detail), 1636–38, oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 112 3/8 in. (182.5 x 285.5 cm). Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. P01658 (© Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid)