Cephalus and Procris Poster

Peter Paul Rubens’ Cephalus and Procris (1636–1637) is an oil on panel painting held at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid. It illustrates the tragic moment from Ovid’s Metamorphoses when Procris, suspecting her husband Cephalus of infidelity, follows him during a hunting expedition. In a fatal misunderstanding, Cephalus mistakes her for wild game and fatally wounds her with an arrow. Rubens captures the tense narrative just before the shooting, with Procris and Cephalus depicted in a wooded clearing. The figure of Procris draws inspiration from Renaissance models, including Michelangelo’s sculpture of Lorenzo de Medici. This work was a preparatory sketch for a larger painting commissioned for the Torre de la Parada, the hunting lodge of Philip IV of Spain. The story is part of a series of hunting-themed paintings Rubens created for this commission. Rubens’ composition emphasizes emotional drama and the tragic consequences of jealousy and misunderstanding.