Artist field note

Peter Paul Rubens

Painting becomes bodily energy in motion.

The Descent from the Cross by Peter Paul Rubens
Art Institute of Chicago · Public domainSource ↗

02 / 05

The Descent from the Cross

1612-1614

A pale body lowers through darkness in a carefully controlled cascade of grief.

The five in one idea

Rubens used abundance, movement and colour to make historical and mythic forces feel bodily present.