Peter Paul Rubens
Thetis dipping the infant Achilles into the river Styx
1630 - 1635
old masters
Rubens here depicts the scene in which the sea nymph Thetis dips her son Achilles in the Styx, the river of the underworld. In this way, Thetis wanted to make her son immortal, after an oracle had told her that he would die young in battle. While she dipped him in the water, she held on to him by his foot. Because of this, this area, the proverbial Achilles heel, proved his vulnerable spot. He would ultimately be killed by a poisoned arrow entering his heel. This painting is the first in a series of eight oil sketches which Rubens made in preparation for a series of tapestries
