Art Gallery of Ontario

British Armed Motor Launch, “Mimi”, 1915 by Art Gallery of Ontario

British Escort Aircraft Carrier, “HMS Activity”, 1942 by Art Gallery of Ontario

British Turret Deck Steamer, “Clan Alpine”, 1899 by Art Gallery of Ontario

Troop Landing Craft, around 1755-1760 by Art Gallery of Ontario

Russian Icebreaker, design for two vessels: “Kosmá Mínin” and “Kniáz Pojársky”, 1916 by Art Gallery of Ontario

British Armoured Steam Cruiser, “H.M.S. Hogue”, 1900 by Art Gallery of Ontario

British Two-decker 50 Gun Warship, “Bristol”, 1774 by Art Gallery of Ontario

British Two-decker 50-54 Gun Warship, around 1703 by Art Gallery of Ontario

French Warship, “L’Ocean”, 1810-1820 by Art Gallery of Ontario

British Self-Righting Pulling and Sailing Lifeboat by Art Gallery of Ontario

British State Barge by Art Gallery of Ontario

British or French Three-decker 100 Gun Warship with Admiral’s Barge alongside, 1795-1815 by Art Gallery of Ontario

British Two-decker 70 Gun Warship, “Edinburgh”, 1721 by Art Gallery of Ontario

18 The Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1610, AGO NARRATOR: Babies wrenched from their mothers’ arms, and dying beneath their feet. A child raised up high, to be brutally dashed to the ground. And a grandmother, about to be mercilessly killed. This violent and shocking scene pictures an event early in the life of Christ. Herod, King of Judea, heard that a child who was “King of the Jews” had been bor...

17 Daniel in the Lions’ Den, 1614/1616, NGA NARRATOR: Looking upward, the Old Testament hero Daniel beseeches God to save him. Angry that Daniel refused to worship the Babylonian gods, the Babylonian king had thrown him to the lions, expecting them to tear him apart. KIRK NICKEL: So Rubens has selected a moment from that story where Daniel is alone in the pit, looking up to the heavens, praying fo...

16 Boar Hunt, c. 1615-17, Musées de Marseille NARRATOR: Dynamic action. Incredible realism. A complex weaving-together of figures and animals. And a story that grabs and holds our attention, as we see this mighty boar surrounded, a spear plunged into his throat. This scene gives us a wonderful summary of Rubens’ extraordinary talent as an artist, which we’ve seen unfold in the exhibition. The pain...

15 Head of Medusa, Moravian Gallery in Brno NICO VAN HOUT: The painting we've got in front of us is called the Medusa. NARRATOR: According to some versions of Medusa’s story, she was once a beautiful young woman, who was raped by the sea god Poseidon in the temple of Athena. Unfairly blaming Medusa for having desecrated the sacred space of her temple, Athena became enraged with her. NICO VAN HOUT:...

14 The Annunciation, c. 1610, Kunsthistorisches Museum NARRATOR: In a dark, nighttime setting that heightens this painting’s intensity, the Angel Gabriel arrives with momentous news for Mary. KIRK NICKEL: Mary has just been facing away from the viewer reading the holy scripture when this tumult of heavenly light and angelic beings cascades into her bedroom. She turns to face Gabriel, her body expr...

13 The Capture of Samson, 1609-10, AIC NARRATOR: In the center of this tumultuous scene, the Old Testament hero Samson is captured. To the left is his lover, Delilah, who has betrayed him to his enemies by allowing them to cut his hair and deprive him of his strength. In this dynamic oil sketch, Rubens is working out how to tell Samson’s story. NICO VAN HOUT: He chooses the moment where he's captu...

12 Lot and his Daughters, c. 1613-14, Private Collection KIRK NICKEL: Reubens’ scene of Lot and his daughters comes from a Biblical narrative fraught with transgression. NARRATOR: Lot and his daughters have fled the town of Sodom which God vowed to destroy, and shelter in a cave. KIRK NICKEL: The two daughters, afraid that their father’s lineage may have come to an end, devise to get him drunk and...

11 The Dreaming Silenus, c. 1610-12 SASHA SUDA: In The Dreaming Silenus, we encounter this god who reports to Bacchus - himself the chief partier - drunken after a long night of revelry. Behind Silenus himself, we see two satyrs, both of whom are still indulging, and in the center right of the painting, we have a quite incredible still life. That includes contemporary glassware, tableware and othe...

10 Vorsterman, Battle of the Amazons, after Rubens, 1623, Rijksmuseum NARRATOR: The fierce female warriors known as the Amazons battle the Greeks in this violent scene. NICO VAN HOUT: Now Rubens, what he tries to do here is to capture this sort of world of aggression of like a wild tornado. NARRATOR: Rubens painted the original composition – but this print was made by an expert engraver, Lucas Vor...

8 Lamentation of Christ, c. 1602-06, Galleria Borghese NARRATOR: Exhibition co-curator Kirk Nickel: KIRK NICKEL: Not long after entering Antwerp’s Painters Guild and thereby becoming a master painter in his own right, Rubens traveled to Italy. This was a relatively common sort of trip that talented and ambitious European artists would take. NARRATOR: Rubens went to Italy in 1600, then in his early...

7 Christ on the Straw, 1618, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen NARRATOR: The two outer panels of this altarpiece were designed to be closed, like doors, over the precious central image – and opened, to spectacular effect. Here’s Nico van Hout, a curator at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp. NICO VAN HOUT: We are standing in front of a masterpiece of color. This is truly spectacu...

4 Portrait of Isabella Brant, c. 1620-25, Cleveland Museum of Art NARRATOR: This is Rubens’ first wife, Isabella Brant. The daughter of an Antwerp city official, she married the artist soon after he arrived back from Italy. Together, they had a daughter and two sons. KIRK NICKEL: And this portrait is a very loving representation of her not as his new bride, but as his beloved wife and mother of hi...