Medium Oil on canvas Year 1637 | Artist Peter Paul Rubens | |
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Dimensions 181 cm × 244 cm (71 in × 96 in) Location Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain Peter Paul Rubens artwork Christ Giving the Keys to St, The Rape of the Sabine W, The Defeat of Sennacherib | ||
Tintoretto the origin of the milky way
The Origin of the Milky Way, or The Birth of the Milky Way, is a painting by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, featuring the Greco-Roman myth of the origin of the Milky Way. The painting depicts Hera (Juno), spilling her breast milk, the infant Heracles (Hercules) and Zeus (Jupiter) in the background, identifiable by his eagle and lightening bolts. Hera's face is modelled on Rubens' wife, Hélène Fourment. The carriage is pulled by Hera's favourite animals, peacocks. Due to the dark background of the night sky the figures gain a greater sense of volume.
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The image was a part of the commission from Philip IV of Spain to decorate Torre de la Parada. Rubens also painted other Greco-Roman mythological subjects, such as Hercules Fighting the Nemean Lion or Perseus Freeing Andromeda.