Paintings by Peter Paul Ruben and Nicolas Poussin Essay

Paintings by Peter Paul Ruben and Nicolas Poussin - Essay Example The essay "Paintings by Peter Paul Ruben and Nicolas Poussin" analyzes two painting by Peter Paul Ruben and Nicolas Poussin.Both of the women in Ruben’s picture are also of a higher social class, which is evident by their well-kempt hairstyles and the flowing, silky fabrics which lie at feet of one of the daughters. From the painted image, both young women look to be somewhat naive as if they were taken by surprise by their raping captors during what might have been a leisurely picnic or stroll through the countryside. Clearly, by the expression on both of the young women’s faces, they are not delighted by being chosen for this activity and likely have no previous experience with being the objects of desire by men who are not of their higher social class. The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus also seems to illustrate that Rubens sees women as a lesser being than men, in terms of physical strength and in the expression of personal desires. It seems that Rubens, perhaps based on the social culture of the time, views women as merely objects of desire who have no rights to defend themselves and should be recognized as extremely inferior to the yearnings of warrior men. This is evident by the look of crazed passion on the faces of the women’s captors and the expressions of dissatisfaction on the faces of the daughters. Clearly, in this picture, the sexual power hierarchy favors the male persona and the rapists hold all of the power over their lesser female victims. It is also evident.