Fantasia on a Picture by Rubens
- Artist: Gerhardt Frankl
- Date: 1923
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “Fantasia on a Picture by Rubens” by Gerhardt Frankl, created in 1923 as an oil on canvas. Frankl takes a familiar composition that we all recognize from the Baroque master and reimagines it through a modernist lens. The canvas bursts with a palette that blends deep reds, ochres, and striking blues, echoing the dramatic lighting of Rubens while adding a contemporary vibrancy that feels almost electric.
Notice how Frankl rearranges the figures—those dramatic contrapposto poses are still there, but he plays with scale and perspective, elongating some limbs and compressing others, creating a sense of movement that feels almost cinematic. The background is less detailed, more atmospheric, giving the whole scene a dreamlike quality, almost as if the viewer is peeking into a surreal tableau.
The brushwork is loose yet deliberate; you can see individual strokes where the paint thickens, especially around the highlights, which add a tactile, almost sculptural quality. In 1923, this piece was a bold commentary on how modern artists could engage with the great Baroque tradition, turning it into something that feels both familiar and fresh. The result is a painting that invites the eye to wander, challenging us to reconsider the boundaries between past and present.
See it in person
Fantasia on a Picture by Rubens hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
