Description
Peter Paul Rubens completed The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus in 1618 and contains his characteristic blend of symbolism and activity on a vibrant canvas.
The lyricism, eloquence and sensuality that characterize all his work are already manifested in Rubens' mythological compositions from 1600-1620. These are often earthy and vigorous works, such as The Abduction of the Daughters of Leucippus.
The two daughters of King Leucippus were engaged to a pair of twins, cousins of Castor and Pollux. But the last pair took the maidens and had children by them. Armed warriors are seen in the act of seizing the naked maidens and leading them away on horseback.
The story behind this painting is that twin brothers Lynceus and Idas of Thebes, sons of Tyndareus' brother Aphareus, agreed to marry the two daughters, frustrating Castor and Pollux, who wanted them for themselves. This forced their hand and led to this aggressive kidnapping scene.
The composition of this painting opens upward like the blossoming of a bouquet. The two diverging diagonals rise from the base of the painting, where the feet of the captive and the attacker are placed side by side. The volumes ascend from this point, residing harmoniously in successive points of balance, while the luminous white forms of the naked victims contrast with the tanned, harnessed bodies of their hirsute rapists. Here Rubens' classicist and baroque tendencies are completely reconciled.