Peter Paul Rubens
Around 1636
Oil paint on wood
19.7 x 28.4 cm
In 1636, King Philip IV of Spain asked Rubens to design the decoration of his new hunting lodge outside Madrid, the Torre de la Parada. These lively sketches, representing mythological scenes, are two of 50 preparatory studies made for this commission. One shows Atlas, condemned by the gods to hold the sky on his shoulders for trying to overthrow them. The other depicts the Greek warrior Hercules killing the hydra, a water monster with many heads.