How did The Horrors of War express Peter Paul Rubens’s view of war?

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Peter Paul Rubens: self-portrait — Peter Paul Rubens Peter Paul Rubens, self-portrait in oil, c. 1638; in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

In his painting The Horrors of War (1637), Peter Paul Rubens expressed a deeply pessimistic view of conflict.1

While Rubens was a successful diplomat who actively sought peace between warring nations throughout his career, this work serves as a stark, allegorical condemnation of the devastation caused by warfare. The painting is considered a precursor to Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, reflecting a somber perspective on the destruction and suffering inherent in military struggle. This outlook stood in contrast to his professional life, where he frequently navigated the complexities of statecraft to advocate for diplomatic settlements between powers like Spain, England, and the Dutch Republic.21