RUBENS, Pieter Pauwel (b. 1577, Siegen, d. 1640, Antwerpen) The Battle of the Amazons c. 1600 Oil on canvas Bildgalerie, Sanssouci-Potsdam After becoming a master in 1678, Rubens also produced paintings in addition to graphic works. His earliest work was very similar in style to that of Van Veen. This is apparent from the rare juvenilia which can on good grounds be ascribed to Rubens, such as the Battle of the Amazons in Potsdam. The classicist portrayal of the characters goes back to Van Veen, but bears witness to a better anatomical insight than is often the case with him. The Battle of the Amazons shows small figures in a landscape by Jan Brueghel, here Rubens followed the earlier and specifically Antwerp tradition of sharing out the tasks in landscapes with figures. <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes):<BR><A HREF="#" onClick="w=window.open ('/music1/17_cent/couperin_amazone.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350');w.opener=this;w.focus();return true"><B>Fran�ois Couperin: Pieces de clavicen: L'Amaz�ne</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> --- Keywords: -------------- Author: RUBENS, Pieter Pauwel Title: The Battle of the Amazons Time-line: 1601-1650 School: Flemish Form: painting Type: mythological