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The Defeat and Death of Maxentius
  • Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640)
  • The Defeat and Death of Maxentius
  • France
  • c. 1622
  • Painting
  • Oil on oak panel
  • Image size: 38.3 x 64.5 cm
    Frame size: 60.3 x 87 cm
  • P520
  • East Drawing Room
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  • The sketch for one of twelve designs for tapestries illustrating the life of Constantine the Great (c.280-337) to be woven by the French Royal Manufactory of Tapestries in Paris. Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome, became sole Emperor in 312 after defeating his co-Emperor Maxentius at the battle of the Milvian bridge on the Tiber, an event traditionally regarded as the turning point in the establishment of Christianity within the Roman Empire. Maxentius who, according to Cardinal Cesare Baronio’s Annales Ecclesiastici, had sabotaged the bridge, later fell to his death when it collapsed beneath the weight of his fleeing army. Rubens had a profound understanding of classical art and literature and was unrivalled in his ability to turn even its most complex themes into vivid and believable images.