The Consequences of War -Peter Paul Rubens
The Consequences of War, (or sometimes The Horrors of War) is an impressive painting by Peter Paul Rubens. The work was painted in response to the Thirty Years’ War and is heavily allegorical. Using mythological iconography to convey an eloquent warning, Rubens gives us a painting of disturbing beauty. The message of ‘The Consequences of War’ is as relevant today as it was in the 1600’s.
The Thirty Years’ War had been raging across Europe for 20 years when The Consequences of War was commissioned. Driven by conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, an individual’s religious affiliation had far-reaching consequences. Ruben’s family had an interesting religious history which would give Rubens a unique perspective on the volatile climate he lived in.
Ruben’s father was a Calvinist (Protestant), and in Spanish controlled Antwerp the family faced religious persecution. They fled to Germany a few years before Rubens was born. When his father died, Rubens was between 10 and 12 years old, his mother decided to move back to Antwerp where he was raised as a Catholic.
Rubens received a rigorous, classical education as well as artistic training. As a young man he traveled to Italy to continue to study art and assimilated the ideals of the high Renaissance, the freedom of the Mannerists, and the colors of the Venetians. As his reputation as an artist grew he was acquiring commissions across Europe and socializing with scholars and princes. By all accounts he was not only a well-educated, cosmopolitan man, but also charming, kind and handsome.
While traveling abroad he received word that his mother had fallen ill and he returned to Antwerp, unfortunately his mother had passed before he arrived. However, once there, he decided to stay and build his workshop in Antwerp.
Ruben’s fame continued to grow and his workshop was highly productive. He was known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, Biblical and mythical scenes, and portraits. His nudes were distinctive, and the term “a Rubenesque nude” is still used today.
Turns out that a successful artist with a good education and a charming manner makes a good diplomat. The Spanish Governor in Antwerp sent Rubens on several secret diplomatic missions and intelligence gathering trips. He was evidently quite adept as a diplomat as both Philip the IV, the King of Spain (Catholic), and Charles the First of England (Protestant), knighted him.
Most of these missions were to negotiate for peace in the Thirty Year War which is considered one of the most destructive conflicts in human history. 8 million people died, and Germany in particular was decimated. In terms of proportion of the population lost, the Thirty Years War was deadlier than WW2 or the Plague.
Fought mostly across Central Europe the war involved Spain, France, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, the Ottoman Empire, and the Holy Roman Empire. The war raged from 1618 to 1648. This painting was painted 20 years into the conflict.
The war was largely fought by mercenary armies whose loyalties could be bought. They were also promised plunder in the cities they conquered so they were looting and setting fields on fire, leaving destruction in their wake. The weakened populace would then have to deal with famine and disease that seemed to walk hand in hand with the marauding armies. Obviously, there was a great deal of suffering across Europe at this time.
Fernando II de’ Medici commissioned this painting. The classical education that Rubens received is evident in this carefully constructed argument for against war. Using the iconography of myths he builds his case, that nations gain far more by pursuing peace, and that pursuing the path of war is self-destructive behavior.
This work would be impossible to read if you are not well versed in Greek and Roman mythology. Hopefully, by the time I’m done you will have an appreciation for all that Ruben’s has managed to convey.
In the top left of The Consequences of War, we find a relief sculpture of two heads facing away from each other. This is Janus, and that tells us that the doors that are beneath him are the doors to his temple. In Roman times the doors to Janus’ Temple were closed during times of peace. When Rome went to war the doors of the temple were opened. We can see the temple door has been opened and the god of war, Mars, is bursting out of the temple.
Mars is the center of the Consequences of War, brandishing his shield and bloodied sword, red cape swirling around him, we understand that war has been unleashed. In mythology, Mars loves to fight, he stirs up strife wherever he can in hopes that fighting will break out. I think we can safely say Mars is an adrenaline junky. As an immortal, war is entertainment for Mars. Sadly, it is not entertainment for the humans he drags along with him. Clinging to his arm, futilely trying to restrain him, is his lover, Venus.
Venus is likely the first figure noticed when viewing this painting. This is partially because she’s nude, but also because in this largely dark painting, she is a slash of light. She and her angels are the one bright spot in a painting filled with despair.
As we uncover the complicated symbolism in the painting we will see anger, destruction, chaos, discord, pestilence, and famine. And yet, in the center, there is still love and beauty. The arts are being trampled underfoot, but all hope is not lost because Venus, as immortal as war, is still in the center.
Rubens, known for his lush nudes, has caught Venus in motion, pleading with Mars to stop the madness. Trying to reason with Mars is futile, he is caught up in the fever of battle and while he is looking back at his lover, his momentum is pushing him forward.
In a previous blog post entitled Botticelli’s Venus and Mars I examined another painting that focused on Venus and Mars. In that painting Venus was the victor; in this painting it is clear that Mars will continue down his bloody path. (Venus and Mars – evidently proof that opposites do attract).
The woman to the left of Venus, dressed in blue with her arms raised in despair is the allegorical figure of Europe. We see that while Europe retains her crowns she has no jewels. They have been plundered and her wealth has been taken. Europe cannot stop the destruction, and has in fact dropped the globe she sometimes holds. Instead the small angel at her side is holding the globe which when examined closely we see the band that encircles it with a cross on the top. This globe represents all of Christendom.
Christendom is at war.
While Europe is on the left, expressing her anguish, we have a very different figure to the right of Mars. This is Alecto, one of the Furies from Greek mythology.
Alecto is one of three Furies, sister goddesses of vengeance. Alecto’s name actually means unceasing anger. Juno enlisted Alecto’s help in causing the Trojan War. As the myth goes Alecto used her burning torch on King Turnis causing ‘his blood to boil with passion for war.’
Often Alecto is portrayed as a hag with snakes coming out of her hair, blood oozing from her eyes, and sporting bat wings.In Rubens’ portrayal we might not have all of those details, but we certainly see the madness that anger has wrought in her. Alecto appears to be urging Mars on, and waving her torch above her, she is intent on bringing Europe’s blood to a boil.
As we move past Alecto, further to the right, we see the two monsters of Pestilence and Famine. Pestilence and Famine are the inseparable partners of war, and even when the battles are over and the soldiers have moved on, they linger behind continuing to destroy what has been spared during the fighting.
As war rages in the upper portion of the painting, In the lower band we come to what is being crushed under Mar’s feet. On the left we see that there is a caduceus on the ground, the snakes winding around to form the symbol we associate with doctors and hospitals. We also see there is a group of scattered arrows that at one time had a piece of leather binding them together. Both are the symbols of concord.
The goddess, Concordia, embodies the concept of agreement within society, like-mindedness, and peace. When we are of one accord, Concordia is present. However, when the leather strap binding her arrows is broken, it shows that we have broken the bonds of friendship and peace. Now discord reigns.
In the same way the caduceus is a symbol of Concordia. In our painting the caduceus is being trampled on the ground and Concordia is absent from the painting, and from Europe.
Following this lower band and moving to the right we come to Mars’ boot. He is trampling books and papers. This is to demonstrate that not only are lives lost, but the Arts, perhaps the very culture of a nation, are destroyed by war. When humanity is struggling to survive there isn’t much energy left over to create music, write books, paint masterpieces, or build cathedrals. Those pursuits that make us distinctly human, separate us from the animals, cease to be a part of our lives. In essence, we become more animal-like.
For Rubens, as a devout man, pursuing the arts is an act of worship. The arts are an integral part of the religious life of a community. So the crushing of the arts directly impacts the spiritual well being of humanity. Yet a war is being fought, a particularly vicious war, between Christians, with the practical effect that God is not being worshiped and Christians are not embodying the basic tenets of their faith.
Continuing to move across The Consequences of War we come to the figures of Harmony and the architect. Harmony has been knocked to the ground, broken lute beside her. Next to her lies an architect, holding his identifying tool, the compass. If the books and letters and Mars boot hadn’t clued us in to the fate of the Arts, these two emphasize the message.
Cowering behind Harmony is a woman holding a child. Sadly, this picture often sums up the horrors of war, pictures of women with their babies fleeing areas of conflict. Every generation has had their version of this. This woman represents our humanity that is threatened by war. Even the ability to procreate and raise children is risked when a war rages.
The Consequences of War was commissioned by Ferdinand de’Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was largely uninvolved in the 30 year war, and left the subject of this painting up to Rubens. Rubens was often restricted by political and cultural considerations when he completed a commission. In this case he felt he could paint freely.
Rubens spent his life painting it is true, but he also spent his life advocating for peace. Many of his works reveal his pacifist tendencies. He lived in a time when a ruler’s worth was evaluated by his military victories, not by diplomatic negotiations. Yet, Rubens continued both with his paintings and his negotiating skills to persuasively argue for the path of peace. His work The Consequences of War is a remarkable example of a painting that expresses a clear ideal in a provocative and lasting way.
In particular his work “Minerva Protects Peace From Mars,” makes the argument that peace is good for the nation, the economy, and the children. He gifted that work to Charles I, as part of his brokering a treaty between England and Spain.
And his painting, The Massacre of the Innocents, which has echoes of a massacre that occurred in Antwerp, is graphic in depicting the ugliness, cruelty and horror of war.
Hmmm, in addition to The Consequences of War, perhaps I’ll need to continue to explore more of Rubens work here on the blog.
If you are interested in my thoughts on some of his Biblical paintings several of them are featured in my Lent Devotional which can be purchased here – or you can subscribe to my blog to catch more on the illustrious Mr. Rubens.
Sources
E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art. (New York, Phaidon Press, 2016)
Professor Sharon Latchaw Hirsh, How to Look at and Understand Great Art, Lecture series, Great Courses
Professor William Koss, History of European Art Lecture series, Great Courses
Sister Wendy Beckett, The Story of Painting (London, Dorsey Kindersley, 2000)
Marilyn Stokstad, Art History. (New Jersey, Pearson Education, 2005)
National Gallery of Art website www.nga.gov
Metropolitan Museum of Art website www.metmuseum.org
The Getty Center www.getty.edu
And thanks to the Met and Wiki commons quality images for public domain art is now much more easily accessible.
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Consequences of War
| Consequences of War | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Peter Paul Rubens |
| Year | 1637–38 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 206 cm × 345 cm (81 in × 136 in) |
| Location | Palazzo Pitti, Florence |
Consequences of War, also known as Horror of war, was executed between 1638-1639 by Peter Paul Rubens in oil paint on canvas. It was painted for Ferdinando II de' Medici. Although commissioned by an Italian, art historians characterize both the work and the artist as Flemish Baroque. It serves as a commentary on a European continent ravaged by the Thirty Years' War, and the artist employed numerous symbols, both contemporary and ancient, to deplore the state of the continent.
Symbols
Mars: Mars is the central figure in the composition. The Roman god of war charges with shield and sword as well as breastplate and helmet. The figure's skin and cape are dominated by the color red to further emphasize his identity as the Roman god.
Book and Drawing: Underneath Mars's feet lie a book and a drawing. These represent the manner in which the arts and letters are forgotten and destroyed in the chaos and violence of war.
Temple of Janus: To the far left of the painting, the Temple of Janus appears with its door ajar. In Ancient Rome, the Temple of Janus would be closed to indicate times of peace while an open door denoted war. This phenomenon is referenced in Fasti by Ovid.[3]
Venus: The Roman goddess of love (and Mars's mistress) endeavors to restrain Mars and maintain peace. Her arm is looped ineffectually around his in a physical gesture. Her expression, meanwhile, plaintively entreaties Mars to stop his charge. Venus is depicted in typical Rubensian fashion with characteristic rolls of exposed flesh (See Arrival of Marie de' Medici or The Judgment of Paris for comparison.[4]) The goddess is accompanied by Amors and Cupids who attempt to assist her.
Fury Alekto: Alekto drags Mars on to his destructive purpose with a torch held high. Alekto was the Greek and Roman incarnation of anger. She appears in both Virgil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Inferno. Alekto translates from the Greek to “the implacable or unceasing anger.”
Pestilence and Famine: These effects of war are depicted as monsters accompanying Fury Alekto in order to heighten the terror of the scene. In addition, they deliberately refer to the apocalypse.
Harmony: Rubens depicts Harmony as a woman holding a lute. However the chaos has pushed her to the ground and broken her lute. The damage to the lute represents the discord of war.
Mother: Beside Harmony a mother clutches a child. This, Rubens writes, shows how “War corrupts and disrupts and destroys everything” including “procreation and charity.”[5]
Architect: An architect and his instruments have similarly fallen to the ground, showing how in times of war destruction and not creation is the norm.
Arrows: Arrows lie on the ground near Venus and the Amors. When bound together they represent Concord but in their present state show its absence. Next to them lie the olive branch and caduceus, the symbols of peace. They too are depicted cast upon the ground to signify their absence in Europe.
Woman in black: The figure to Venus's left represents Europe and its suffering. Her cross-topped globe represents the Christian world and is carried by the small angel to her immediate left.
Historical context
Rubens painted Consequences of War between 1638 and 1639 in response to the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). The conflict's origins are complex and diverse but animosity
between Protestants and Catholics played a significant role. In addition, struggles for political power in Europe contributed to and prolonged the war. Nearly all European states fought at some point in the conflict's long time span. The fighting involved Spain, France, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, the Ottoman Empire, and the Holy Roman Empire. In particular, the war represented a continuation and extension of Habsburg and Bourbon rivalry as well as French and Habsburg animosity.
As depicted in Consequences of War, the fighting led to the destruction of large areas of Europe as well as outbreaks of both pestilence and famine. Much of the fighting took place in the German states which suffered significant depopulation as a result. The Thirty Years' War ended in 1648 with the treaties of Osnabruck and Munster as well as the Peace of Westphalia.
Rubens the diplomat[edit]
Peter Paul Rubens was not only a virtuosic painter but also a passionate and crafty diplomat. Rubens, although closely allied to Isabella and the Spanish Netherlands, often had occasion to travel and visit foreign monarchs in his position as a court painter.[4] Rubens associated with the dukes of Mantua, King Phillip IV, Charles I, and Marie de' Medici.[6] He served as a negotiator for the Spanish Netherlands (and for the cause of peace more generally), and for France and England.
Indeed, Rubens lobbied for an end to the Thirty Years' War with considerable passion and cleverness. The painter sought to bring Spain and England, traditional enemies, to peace in the hopes that the Spanish would then pressure the Dutch into following suit. During this period Rubens carried messages, demands, and concession agreements back and forth between Phillip IV and Charles I to ultimately reach a conclusion. For his diplomatic work Rubens was eventually decreed a “gentleman of the household” by Isabella and knighted by Charles I.
This unique position as both a master painter and trusted diplomat clearly informed Consequences of War. The painting shows the artist's sincere desire for peace and his justified horror at how war has ravaged Europe. Indeed, his diplomatic work allowed him and burdened him with considerable knowledge of the state of the continent and the consequences war had wrought.
Artistic style
Rubens’ work, including Consequences of War, represents the height of Flemish Baroque painting. His style is referred to as pan-European and synthesizes elements of Italian Renaissance and Baroque artists to form his own artistic approach. The work of Michelangelo, Titian, Carracci, and Caravaggio informed Rubens's paintings in varying degrees.
Viewers note the influence of Michelangelo in Rubens's interest and brilliance in depicting the human form. Consequences of War contains not only Rubens's trademark women but also the well muscled forms of Mars, Alekto, and the architect. These muscular figures are reminiscent of the powerful specimens depicted in Michelangelo's Last Judgment, David, and The Creation of Adam. This trend in Rubens's art is actually best shown in the extraordinarily well built men of Rubens's Elevation of the Cross.
Titian's influence is most evident with respect to depiction of the female nude. Rubens's women bear a striking resemblance to Titian's Venus with a Mirror and Nymph and Shepherd. However Titian's most famous work, Venus of Urbino, undoubtedly inspired Rubens's depiction of her in Consequences of War. The similarity between the two portraits of the goddess is unmistakable.
Rubens's debt to Annibale Carracci lies at least in part in his composition. The densely populated drama of Consequences of War recalls Carracci's Loves of the Gods, in particular The Triumph of Bacchus. Furthermore, the careful use of color, light, and shadow as opposed to line to show space used by Carracci in Flight into Egypt became a key part of Rubens's style. Indeed, Rubens's style became a highly coloristic one.
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