From 8 February to 21 May the exhibition “Rubens. Power of transformation” takes place at the Museum in Frankfurt. The title of the exhibition is program. It is about Peter Paul Rubens’ adaptation and transformation of ancient and contemporary models. In the sense of the Aemulatio (overbid competition), the Fleming enters into dialogue with masterpieces of antiquity, but also with the great names of his time such as Titian, Tintoretto, Hendrick Goltzius and Adam Elsheimer.
But it never remains merely to copy the originals. Instead, there are refined metamorphoses and completely new pictorial inventions. This special form of artistic reception can usually only be recognized at second glance, but in the Frankfurt show it is impressively staged across genres and immediately presented to the viewer as he enters the first room: Rubens’ monumental Ecce Homo is based on a study of the ancient sculpture of the centaur tamed by Cupid.
The mythological creature as the epitome of carnal lust is transformed into the Son of God presented to the people! The exhibition with its approx. 100 exhibits promises further creative image solutions revealing the artist’s high level of education and should never be missed.