Peter Paul Rubens: Portrait of a Man as Mars (c.1620)

“Painted in Antwerp around 1620 when the Flemish artist was at the height of his creative powers, Portrait of a Man as Mars blends the genres of portraiture, allegory, and mythology. Rubens depicts the armor-clad figure wearing an all’antica helmet once owned by the artist himself. Imbued with a magnetic virility, the man conveys the…