Nude Youth in the Pose of the Spinario

Italy, specifically ancient Roman sculpture, profoundly influenced Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens. The artist himself wrote that “in order to attain the highest perfection in painting, it is necessary to understand the antiques . . . to be so thoroughly possessed of this knowledge that it may diffuse itself everywhere.” This drawing of a live studio model derives from the artist’s firsthand acquaintance with the Hellenistic bronze Spinario (also called Boy with Thorn, 1st century BCE), which was one of the most celebrated and copied sculptures in Rome. Absorbing antiquity without outright copying it, Rubens fully transformed his image from cold stone to vibrant flesh.