CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY IN LITERATURE AND ART^699
for each book of the poem, in which the stories of the book were repre-
sented, choosing more often the moment of greatest drama rather than the
moment of metamorphosis. In addition Clein designed a splendid title page
and a portrait of Ovid, each decorated with allegorical figures from classical
mythology.
The principle of the interaction of words and pictures has remained a reg-
ular feature of the influence of Ovid since the publication of Sandys' 1632 edi-
tion. Ovid is the most visual of poets, and his landscapes and narrative invite
pictorial representation, as can be seen in a large number of school editions of
the Metamorphoses.
EUROPEAN ART OF THE SEVENTEENTH
THROUGH THE NINETEENTH CENTURIESRUBENSPeter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) found in classical mythology a constant source
of inspiration throughout his career. During his years in Italy, between 1600 and
1608, he studied and copied classical works of art and became thoroughly fa-
miliar with the representations of classical mythology. He already had a good
knowledge of Latin literature, and through his brother, Philip (an excellent clas-
sicist), he had access to the brilliant circle of humanists that centered on his fel-
low countryman, Justus Lipsius. Rubens painted great numbers of scenes in
which he showed with energy and brilliance his understanding of classical
mythology.
In his last years, Rubens was commissioned to decorate the hunting lodge
of King Philip IV near Madrid with a series of paintings illustrating the legends
in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Rubens, who began the commission in his sixtieth year,
completed no less than 112 oil sketches, of which about forty-five survive (see
pages 275, 538, and 654). Only a handful of the final full-size paintings survive,
still to be seen together in Madrid. This series is perhaps the most ambitious of
all the illustrated Ovids, and the oil sketches are among the most beautiful of
all the Baroque representations of classical myths. Rubens also turned to Homer
and Statius for inspiration for his designs for the tapestries portraying the life
of Achilles. Most of these oil sketches can still be seen together in Rotterdam.
POUSSINNicolas Poussin (1594-1665), although French by birth, spent nearly all his
productive life in Rome, and, like Rubens, he never ceased to draw inspira-
tion from the classical legends and to meditate on their deeper meaning be-
yond the narrative. Among painters he is the most intellectual interpreter of