Minerva Protects Pax from Mars

Minerva Protects Pax from Mars (1629), known as Peace and War, was painted by Rubens during his diplomatic mission to England, where he was negotiating a peace treaty between England and Spain on behalf of Philip IV. The painting was presented as a personal gift to King Charles I — a work of art serving simultaneously as diplomatic offering and political argument — depicting the goddess of wisdom driving away the god of war while Peace nourishes her children with the abundance that only peaceful conditions allow. The allegorical message was Rubens's own political programme translated into paint: as a diplomat who had dedicated years to the effort of ending the wars that were devastating the Spanish Netherlands and the rest of Europe, he used his greatest gift — painting — to make his case for peace in a medium that transcended the language barriers and diplomatic formalities of negotiation. The National Gallery in London holds this painting as both an outstanding example of Baroque allegory and as a document of the moment when a painter-diplomat deployed his art in direct service of political aims.

The composition dramatically contrasts the luminous, warm figures of Peace and her children with the dark, armored figure of Mars being repelled by Minerva. Rubens' rich palette and dynamic composition make the political allegory visually compelling.

Now in the National Gallery, London, this politically charged allegory was a gift from Rubens to Charles I of England. The painting has been carefully conserved over the centuries. A major cleaning revealed the brilliance of the original colors beneath accumulated varnish. The canvas is in good structural condition.