WAR AND DESTRUCTION CONVEYED THROUGH A MASTERPIECE OF ART

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to focus on how the consequences of war, and the misery brought by it to European society, were depicted by Rubens, the Flemish Baroque painter, in his masterpiece The Consequences of War. The paper is based on an analytical method, with interpretative results and conclusions. This painting was created twenty years into the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), a devastating conflict that involved almost every major power in Europe and left some regions of Germany almost depopulated, but it also serves as a true visual illustrations on the situation of Europe today. Wars and conflicts have accompanied humankind since the beginning of time, and despite the different eras, continents, or nations, the consequences in people and society have been equally devastating. The terrors of war affected every sector of life, politics, society, as well as the arts.
This paper will do e thorough analysis of the work, interpreting its symbolism, explaining the figures of Mars, the god of war, with his armor, helmet, red cloak, raised shield and bloody sword. With his left foot forward on a book and a drawing the image symbolizes that war destroys literature and the arts. To his left, Venus, the goddess of love, is seen trying to hold him back and pulling his arm. She tries to seduce him and make him withdraw from the fight. Venus is naked and has a red robe between her legs. That garment unites her and Mars, as a symbol that unites love and war, both driven by human passion.
The whole picture reveals the destruction of life, soul, love, harmony, nations, arts, buildings, literature and music. A full blast of horror. It is a lesson for today conflicts and crisis. In the image there are several arrows, a scepter and an olive branch, symbols of peace, which have fallen to the ground under the flood of war. To the left of the painting is a despondent woman dressed in black, her arms flailing in the air. This woman represents Europe, the war-torn and bloody continent. Her eyes are teary, and she prays to heaven to stop the human folly. Rubens appeals through symbols that war has ravaged the European continent since Roman times. This work is an illustration on how war has a terrible impact on the lives of ordinary people, causing famine, disease and economic destruction in all regions. The allegory painted by Rubens serves as a memorial to the total war that Europeans experienced in the 20th century and even today.