Abstract:

The Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens was born in 1577 and he died in Anvers in 1640. He is known as one of the pioneer artists in the Baroque style. Rubens was a sophisticated artist who was successful in various fields such as an artist, a designer, an art collector and a diplomat. In the 1600s, he was interested in both classic art and new art arisen in Rome. He examined that period's contemporary artists such as Michelangelo and Caravaggio. He carried on some works from Tiziano and Veronese when he was in Madrid. Rubens became a pioneer with his large sized paintings rather than the Dutch artists' small sized paintings. He applied vivid and rich colors to his paintings and also added a strong dynamism to the crowded figures by giving different poses. Rubens obtained a vivid image by painting people's bodies and faces in a realistic skin color. The people in his paintings are stalwart, enormous and muscled. In his paintings, he usually dealt with religious, non-religious and mythological subjects such as ceremonies, feasts, meetings and encounters. His mythological paintings are especially large. The depiction of the figures in accordance with their vivid and real nature gives a different effect to the mythological subjects he dealt with. The artist's mythology themed paintings indicate the characteristics of the 17th century Baroque painting art with their non-symmetrical compositional setup, lively and dynamic positions. In this research, the synthesis between the Flemish art and Italian art by Peter Paul Rubens, the great master of Baroque art, and the mythology-themed paintings he made at that time are included.This study focuses on Rubens' mythological paintings named 'The Battle of the Amazons', 'The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus', 'Mars and Rhea Silvia', 'Allegory on the Blessings of Peace' (Minerva Protects Pax from Mars) and 'The Judgment of Paris' by using the iconological method of the art historian Erwin Panofsky.  In this method,the artwork is examined in three stages as form, subject and content. So the social and cultural structure of the period was revealed. As a result of the research, it is seen that the social and cultural characteristics of the 17th century have an effect on Rubens' work.As a result of the research, it is seen that the social and cultural characteristics of the 17th century have an effect on Rubens' works.

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