Peter Paul Rubens, Torso Belvedere

A celebration of the body. The Torso Belvedere is perhaps the most powerful evocation of physicality. In Rubens’s time, this statue, dating from the 1st century BCE, was considered the epitome of masculinity.

Rubens copied the sculpture, using it as a model for crouching or resting athletes in his paintings. He was not the only artist to ‘take a copy’. Other artists were also inspired by this centuries-old statue, which was later named after the location where it stood, namely in the Belvedere Court behind the Vatican Palace.  

Rome was the highlight of Rubens’s grand tour of the culturally rich peninsula. He was fascinated by the remains of classical antiquity and the work of the great Italian artists. But his imagination went into overdrive in the Eternal City. There he meticulously copied what he could, recording every detail.

Rubens’s drawing of the Torso Belvedere is also very true to life. It depicts a very muscular man, with no head, arms or legs, sitting on an animal hide that has been draped over a boulder. Rubens even copied the Greek inscription on the pedestal. Proof that he did not just seek to capture the sculpture’s posture but was actually passionate about art and archaeology.

Besides sculptures, Rubens also used drawings by old masters as inspiration for his own work. Over the years, he acquired an impressive collection. He used them creatively to test his own ideas and techniques. Sometimes, they also served as practice materials for training apprentices in his studio.