Rubens paints Daniel in the Lions' Den

In the mid-1600s the Flemish artist Sir Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish; 1577-1640) spent quite a bit of time in the royal menagerie at Brussels, making careful studies of North African lions. His drawings are so accurate that we know these particular lions were a Moroccan species which is now extinct in the wild (a few of these lions can be seen at Washington's National Zoo.)

Rubens was preparing to paint a large canvas (approximately 7 x 10 feet) depicting the Biblical story of Daniel in the Lions' Den. In this Old Testament story the prophet Daniel, chief counselor and friend to the Persian king Darius, aroused the envy of the kings' other ministers. They conspired against Daniel, forcing Darius to throw the young man into a den of lions. The next morning Darius, concerned about his friend, had the stone that sealed the den's entrance removed. To his great joy he discovered that Daniel had been miraculously unharmed.

This painting is done in baroque style. Baroque is a style of European art dating from the late 16th to early 18th century, and Rubens is classified as a "high baroque" painter. The style is flamboyant and highly decorative, full of drama and movement.

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