Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs

Another version of the Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs by Jordaens, around 1615, treats the same mythological subject with the Flemish tradition of dynamic, physical narrative painting. The subject's violence allowed artists to display their command of the figure in extreme action. Jordaens, who outlived both Rubens and Van Dyck to become the dominant figure in Flemish Baroque painting for the second half of the seventeenth century, was particularly celebrated for his exuberant genre subjects, especially his series on the Flemish proverb about the King of the Bean.

The chaotic battle fills the composition with struggling bodies in varied poses of combat. Jordaens's vigorous brushwork and strong coloring create a sense of violent movement and physical intensity.