vcrfl-blog:Peter Paul Rubens: Hygieia, c. 1615.There are two nearly identical versions of this paint
vcrfl-blog:Peter Paul Rubens: Hygieia, c. 1615.There are two nearly identical versions of this painting. One has been in the National Gallery in Prague for ages, unfortunately only a rather poor reproduction exists. It has, most certainly incorrectly, identified as The Death of Cleopatra, probably because that’s what first comes to mind when you see a woman with a snake.The other one, this one, was given to the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1944, where it was, probably correctly, identified as Hygieia, goddess of health. For while Cleopatra holds the snake to her breast so that it will bite her, this goddess, on whose name the modern term “hygiene” is based, is often depicted feeding a snake—which is exactly what the woman in this painting does.Identifying a motif can sometimes be tricky. -- source link