Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Why did Peter Paul Rubens create oil sketches based on Ovidâs Metamorphoses for Philip IV of Spain?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Peter Paul Rubens
Peter Paul Rubens, self-portrait in oil, c. 1638; in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
Peter Paul Rubens created more than 60 oil sketches based on Ovidâs Metamorphoses specifically to decorate the Torre de la Parada, a hunting lodge belonging to Philip IV located outside Madrid. In these works, Rubens reinterpreted the various conflicts, passions, and loves of ancient gods and mortals.1