Saint Dominic and Saint Francis Protecting the World from the Wrath of Christ

By 1620 Antwerp had settled back into Catholic hands after decades of religious war, and Rubens ran the busiest painting workshop in northern Europe, turning out altarpieces for churches eager to advertise their faith. This one illustrates a story told of Saint Dominic, the 13th-century friar. He dreamed that Christ, furious at the sins of the world, was about to hurl thunderbolts at it, and that the Virgin held him back by offering two servants who would reform mankind instead. Those servants are Dominic himself and Saint Francis of Assisi, the barefoot friar beside him. Rubens gives the scene his usual weight of muscle and cloud. The three lightning bolts in Christ's hand stand for pride, lust and greed.