Rubens returned to Antwerp in 1608 from Italy, and he brought with him an interest in the heritage of Antique art and literature that developed into a cornerstone of his thinking and artistic production. After setting up home in Antwerp, he devoted himself with unfailing interest to Greek and Roman mythology, which he used for the subject of many works, mostly as private commissions.

The lyricism, eloquence and sensuality that characterise his entire oeuvre are already apparent in Rubens's mythological compositions of 1600-1620. These are often vigorous, earthy works: Venus Frigida, The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus, Drunken Bacchus and Satyrs and The Three Graces. The taste for opulent forms and buxom nudes prevailing in these works, and the vitality and pantheism they radiate, took on a more intimate and even, elegiac note in the latter stages of Rubens's life.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes): Jacobus Gallus: Currit parrus lepulus, motet

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	Leda and the Swan 1598-1602 Oil on wood, 65 x 81 cm Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge	1300*1033 True Color 183 Kb
	The Battle of the Amazons c. 1600 Oil on canvas Schloss Sanssouci, Potsdam	1161*920 True Color 171 Kb
	Democritus 1603 Oil on canvas, 179 x 66 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid	400*1149 True Color 56 Kb
	Hero and Leander c. 1605 Oil on canvas, 128 x 217 cm Gemaldegalerie, Dresden	1548*900 True Color 154 Kb
	Hero and Leander (detail) c. 1605 Oil on canvas Gemaldegalerie, Dresden	1133*1100 True Color 147 Kb
	Hero and Leander c. 1605 Oil on canvas, 96 x 127 cm Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven	1228*900 True Color 135 Kb
	The Judgment of Paris 1606 Oil on copper, 34 x 45 cm Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna	1235*900 True Color 194 Kb
	Venus at her Toilet c. 1608 Oil on canvas, 137 x 11 cm Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid	1000*1252 True Color 120 Kb
	Prometheus Bound 1610-11 Oil on canvas, 243 x 210 cm Museum of Art, Philadelphia	1030*1159 True Color 145 Kb
	Juno and Argus c. 1611 Oil on canvas, 249 x 296 cm Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne	1165*950 True Color 170 Kb
	The Drunken Hercules c. 1611 Oil on oak panel, 220 x 220 cm Gemäldegalerie, Dresden	900*989 True Color 144 Kb
	The Abduction of Ganymede 1611-12 Oil on canvas, 203 x 203 cm Schwarzenberg Palace, Vienna	1121*1100 True Color 164 Kb
	Venus, Cupid, Baccchus and Ceres 1612-13 Oil on canvas, 141 x 200 cm Staatliche Museen, Kassel	1145*800 True Color 134 Kb
	The Statue of Ceres c. 1615 Oil on wood, 91 x 66 cm The Hermitage, St. Petersburg	885*1255 True Color 145 Kb
	Jupiter and Callisto 1613 Oil on canvas, 202 x 305 cm Staatliche Museen, Kassel	1416*950 True Color 161 Kb
	Cupid Making His Bow 1614 Oil on canvas, 142 x 108 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich	948*1300 True Color 113 Kb
	Venus Frigida 1614 Oil on wood, 142 x 184 cm Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp	1285*1000 True Color 120 Kb
	Venus and Adonis c. 1614 Oil on panel, 83 x 91 cm The Hermitage, St. Petersburg	1251*1121 True Color 147 Kb