Collection of the National Gallery, London (vol.1)

The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The Gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Its collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom and entry to the main collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world.



Mars, the god of war, marches from the Temple of Janus encouraged by the Fury of War, Alecto, while Venus attempts to restrain him. A woman on the left personifies unhappy Europe; on the right, Alecto is accompanied by two monsters who symbolise the Plague and Famine; beneath are personifications of Harmony, Fecundity, Maternity and Charity, all who thrive under peace.

This is a reduced copy of a painting by Rubens (Florence, Palazzo Pitti), which is thought to date from about 1637-8. It may have been executed while the Pitti painting was still in Rubens's studio.