after Rubens: the strange story of the Samson and Delilah
  afterRubens.org > Style and Handling > Comparisons Tool
 

Choose a comparison set (more to be added during Nov) from the drop-down menu below, and click on the thumbnails to view comparisons and our commentary below.
Comparisons Tool / Statue of Cupid
 
These are the original comparisons displayed in the "Style and Handling" section of the Flash Movie.

  
  Click on a new detail to compare, and read commentary below:
Head of old woman Detail of head of old woman Detail of carpet Carpet Samson's head Philistine barber's head Old woman's hand Statue of Venus and Cupid
Statue of Venus and Cupid Statue of Cupid Statue of Cupid Samson's foot Samson's foot
 

Status of Cupid

Fountain statue
Status of Cupid from the Samson and Delilah Fountain statue from the Susanna and the Elders (1609), Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid

Finally, consider the Venus and Cupid alongside a sculpture in a painting from the same year which is often classed together with the Samson and Delilah stylistically. One must of course make allowances for the fact that the sculpture at right is physically larger but that does not change the fact that the painterly approach is patently entirely different. Indeed, many people believe that the Susanna and the Elders was mainly the product of Rubens’ workshop – so are we to believe that the master’s quality control have been such that he demanded a more convincing rendition of stone sculpture from his workshop than he himself was capable of in his presentation painting for the Burgomaster of Antwerp, Nicolaas Rockox

Head of old woman Detail of head of old woman Detail of carpet Carpet Samson's head Philistine barber's head Old woman's hand Statue of Venus and Cupid
Statue of Venus and Cupid Statue of Cupid Statue of Cupid Samson's foot Samson's foot