Jason and the Golden Fleece (sketch for the Torre de la Parada

Executed in oil on canvas, the sketch displays Rubens’s characteristic fluid handling of paint, with swift, energetic strokes that suggest form rather than delineate every detail. Warm, saturated hues—particularly reds and golds—enhance the sense of movement, while the chiaroscuro modeling of the figure against a backdrop of stone columns creates depth and theatrical tension.

Rubens produced the work as part of a series of mythological panels commissioned by King Philip IV for the Torre de la Parada. After the lodge’s destruction in the early 18th century, the sketch entered the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, where it has been displayed as an example of Rubens’s preparatory process.

The sketch reflects the broader Baroque interest in grand, narrative-driven decoration for royal residences. Rubens, also a diplomat, often blended classical and biblical subjects to satisfy the tastes of his aristocratic patrons, and his designs for the Torre de la Parada integrated mythic themes into a cohesive visual program for the hunting palace.