Peter Paul Rubens: The four continents (1612-1615)

(Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria)

A painting by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). This painting has several interpretations of what the 4 old men and the 4 young women represent. Traditionally they represent the four parts of the world with their main streams: Europa with the Danube, Asia with the Ganges, America with the Rio de la Plata and Africa with the Nile. A new interpretation sees in the in the men and women the 4 great rivers of the classical antiquity: the Nile, Euphrates, Tigris and the Ganges together with their sources. Another interpretation sees in them the 4 rivers of paradise: Pishon, Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates (Genesis 2:10-14). Painting from 1612-1615.