The Birth of the Milky Way, also known as The Origin of the Milky Way, is an
oil-on-canvas painting by the Flemish artist
Peter Paul Rubens, produced between 1636 and 1638 and featuring the
Greco-Roman myth of the origin of the Milky Way. The painting depicts
Hera (
Juno), spilling her
breast milk, the infant
Heracles (
Hercules) and
Zeus (
Jupiter) in the background. Hera/Juno's face is modelled on Rubens's wife,
Hélène Fourment. The carriage is pulled by peacocks, a bird which the ancient Greeks and Romans considered sacred to the goddess.
The painting was a part of the commission from Philip IV of Spain to decorate Torre de la Parada. It is now held at the Museo del Prado in Madrid.Painting credit: Peter Paul Rubens
The Birth of the Milky Way, also known as The Origin of the Milky Way, is an
oil-on-canvas painting by the Flemish artist
Peter Paul Rubens, produced between 1636 and 1638 and featuring the
Greco-Roman myth of the origin of the Milky Way. The painting depicts
Hera (
Juno), spilling her
breast milk, the infant
Heracles (
Hercules) and
Zeus (
Jupiter) in the background. Hera/Juno's face is modelled on Rubens's wife,
Hélène Fourment. The carriage is pulled by peacocks, a bird which the ancient Greeks and Romans considered sacred to the goddess.
The painting was a part of the commission from Philip IV of Spain to decorate Torre de la Parada. It is now held at the Museo del Prado in Madrid.Painting credit: Peter Paul Rubens