''The Four Continents'', also known as ''The Four Rivers of Paradise'' or ''The Four Corners of the World'', is a painting by Flemish artist

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

, made between 1612 and 1615. Rubens painted this piece during a time of truce in the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

known as the Twelve Years' Truce. The painting depicts the female personifications of the four continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, and America) with the male personifications of their respective major rivers (the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

, the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

, the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, and the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

). The painting also depicts three putti in the foreground along with a crocodile, tigress, and her three cubs. An important figure in this piece is the woman in the middle who personifies Africa. She was one of the two black women Rubens painted at the time. There have been two different interpretations on this piece from the scholars Elizabeth McGrath and Jean Michel Massing. Both scholars presented different interpretations for who the figures are personifying. Other ideas have suggested that Rubens was driven by his own religious influences when creating the piece. Since 2015, there has also been some important restoration work done on both the painting and its frame.

History

Painted during a period of truce between the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, known as the Twelve Years' Truce, the river allegories and their female companions in a lush, bountiful setting reflect the peaceful conditions that Rubens hoped would return to

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

after military hostilities. During the time of the

, Rubens had many roles, two of which were artist and diplomat. In 1608, Rubens returned to Antwerp after living and working in Spain because his mother was dying. Rubens was in Antwerp until 1621 when the Twelve Years' Truce ended, and he was called to negotiate in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on behalf of Archduchess Isabella on behalf of the Spanish Netherlands. Throughout the 1620's, Rubens had his hands in many diplomatic situations, and these helped to elevate his social status. Rubens's diplomatic work caused him to be invested in the theme of peace, which is expressed in this painting.

Iconography

The painting appears to be set in a marsh land. There are mountains in the background and what appears to be a body of water. The figures are seated at the bank of a body of water, with a large overhang above them. It depicts the female personifications of what are believed to be four continents - Europe, Asia, Africa and America - sitting with the male personifications of their respective major rivers – the

, the

and the

. Europe is shown on the left, Africa in the middle, Asia on the right and America to the left. Australia was not included as Europeans were unaware of its existence at Rubens's time. Europe on the left is seated slightly higher than the other four women, and this could represent how Europe viewed itself at the time in comparison to the other countries. In comparison, Africa is seated the lowest of the four women. She is also the only one in the image to acknowledge the viewer. The tigress, protecting the cubs from the crocodile, is used as a symbol of Asia. The personification of the Danube holds a rudder. The personification of the Nile is leaning on a classical piece of architecture. The bottom part of the painting shows several putti. They seem to be playing on and around the crocodile, while the crocodile has its attention more focused on the tigress. While it was not uncommon for Frans Snyders to be the one painting the animals in Rubens' paintings, it appears in this phase of his career that Rubens painted the crocodile, tigress, and tiger cubs. Around this time, Rubens was creating numerous sketches of exotic animals such as lions, crocodiles, tigers, and hippopotamuses. These animals can be seen in other paintings Rubens did around this time.

The Black Female Nude

One of the characteristics of Rubens's paintings is the way he depicted the human form. Rubens had a preference for depicting full-bodied forms representing the strength humanist ideals passed on from Greco-Roman influenced Renaissance. A modern day interpretation, based on critical theory methods, reads feminist and racial meaning in this piece sometimes using Rubens own words in describing his preference for representing particularly women who were, as he put it, "white as snow." This painting is one of two African women Rubens painted in 1615. While a large part of her body is covered, her upper torso is still visible and shows the same endowed form Rubens has given to the other figures. She sits central in the geometry which may indicate the fascination Baroque artists had with Africa and the Nile because of its mysterious almost mystical source. Scholars in the seventeenth-century were in conversation about the Nile. In ''Guide to Greece'', Pausanias wrote that the Nile was the only river god to be portrayed as black because the Nile traveled through Ethiopian. There were various depictions at the time of the male god being black, such as in a print by Philips Galle, but this did not translate into sculpture. Rubens took influence from sculptures when depicting the white river god, and chose to depict the female personification of Africa as a black woman. The river god is partially concealing the woman and this could allude to the unknown origin of the Nile in Rubens time. The Nile could be trying to "conceal the origins of his source" as the Roman poet,

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

, wrote. By having his arm firmly around her waist and with a majority of her body being covered, Africa could be representing this unknown source of the Nile.

Interpretation

The art historian Elizabeth McGrath proposed a different interpretation of the female figures on the painting, believing them to be water

nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

representing the sources of the rivers instead. McGrath also suggested corresponding river names, the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

instead of the Danube and the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

instead of the Río de la Plata, arguing that those names also appear as the rivers of Paradise in Christian

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...

. The Arts and Culture news outlet from the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

poses that this painting could represent the spread of Catholicism around the world. Rubens was a devout Catholic and frequently would depict religious subject matter. Since this scene was unlike others in Rubens's body of work, the connection back to the Catholicism spread seems plausible. Another possible explanation is to symbolize trade with other places in the world. Rubens would also simply be showing off his knowledge of other countries existing and what they have to offer. In ''The Image of the Black in Western Art,'' the author Jean Michel Massing proposes two alternative rivers in place of the Danube and Rio de la Plata.

Massing Massing is the architecture, architectural term for general Shape and form (visual arts), shape, form and size of a structure. Characteristics Massing is three-dimensional, a matter of form, not just an outline from a single perspective, a s ...

associates the male river god directly above the tiger as the

river, and then the male figure to his left as the

. One of the reasons for this interpretation is because these four rivers; the Tigris, Euphrates, Nile, and Ganges were the four rivers of paradise in chapter two of Genesis. By representing these rivers, it would have portrayed Rubens as well versed, and shown the extent of his classical knowledge. This would have also been an allegory people from many background would have been able to understand, so he would have reached a wider range of patrons.

Restoration

In 2015, the process for restoring the painting began. This process involved taking the painting out of its frame, placing it on a new canvas, cleaning the surface, and re-touching some places on the painting. The hand carved wood frame was also restored during this process. During the restoration process, it was noticed on the right side of the piece that there were additional pieces of canvas. To restorationists, this hinted at the idea of the piece once being smaller than it currently is and the additional canvas was used to help the painting fill out the frame. File:Study of a River God - Sir Peter Paul Rubens.png, Study of a river personification for the painting

References

External links

Kunsthistorisches Museum entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Four Continents Paintings by Peter Paul Rubens 17th-century allegorical paintings Allegorical paintings by Flemish artists Nude paintings of women category:Nude paintings of men 1610s paintings Paintings in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Animal paintings Tigers in art Continents in art Paintings of black people