Ruben's Horse

I really like Rubens. Among the many drawings I looked at, his appealed to me more than any others. I felt that Durer was a better technician, but that Rubens had more artistic flair. His paintings get pretty wild. I love this portrait. Presumably the guy was military, so his portrait surrounds him with his horse and battle scene. Rubens uses this same horse in another portrait. I like the horse more than the man. But the portrait is more than the wonderful horse, there are the dark roiling clouds of war, the small cannon fodder soldiers, the dark overhanging leaves. Quite sinister, which may say a lot about the man, but the horse is a white light of innocence and magnificence in the middle. 2/18/07 actual size 7 in. x 8.5 in.