Even the ancients believed that "all's fair in love and war"

Jacob Jordaens
Flemish, 1593-1678
Hippomenes and Atalanta
ca. 1630
Oil on canvas

Lent by the Steven and Dorothea Green Collection

According to ancient myths and legends set down by the Roman poet Ovid, Atalanta was a famous athlete and hunter who regularly challenged her suitors to footraces in which the loser was punished by death. The unbeaten Atalanta captivated Hippomenes. Venus was determined to help him by giving him three golden apples, which he dropped as he raced Atalanta, who lost time by stopping to pick up each treasure. With this trick, Hippomenes won the race and his bride.

The Flemish master Jacob Jordaens (the foremost painter in Antwerp after Rubens' death in 1640) was particularly gifted in portraying such "history" scenes as the story of Atalanta. Jordaens has created beaux-ideals of youth and beauty, and heir as he was to the Renaissance traditions of vanishing perspective, he adopted the device and in fact, accentuated it. His racers appear to run out at us. Trumpeters have heralded the race's start and the first apple has been dropped. The railings are packed with onlookers and the whole scene has the energy, vivacity, and humor that are hallmarks of Jordaens' marvelous storytelling style.

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