Peace Embracing Plenty
Peter Paul Rubens
between 1633 and 1634
The Flemish-born Peter Paul Rubens was a classical scholar and diplomat, in addition to being a painter. Following a mission to London on behalf of the king of Spain in 1630, he was commissioned by Charles I to decorate the ceiling of the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace with a scheme celebrating the reign of Charles’s father, James I. This is a preparatory modello, or sketch, that Rubens made to guide the assistants in his busy Antwerp studio. The two female figures represent a smaller section of a larger central panel. Peace, draped in gold, moves to embrace Plenty, who is clad in pink and carrying a cornucopia, a symbol of abundance. Behind them looms an architectural caprice with a niche surrounded by four Solomonic columns. Traditionally associated with the First Temple of Jerusalem built by King Solomon, the columns are attributes of a wise and prosperous reign.
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven · Image: Yale Center for British Art, Public domain · Text: Yale Center for British Art, CC0