Peter Paul RubensFlemish, 1577–1640The Union of Earth and Water (Antwerp and the Scheldt)
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
State Hermitage Museum
Room247Saint Petersburg, Russia
On public display.
- Checked
- 29 Aug 2026
- In this state since
- Aug 30, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the painting
The Union of Earth and Water is a Baroque painting by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, showing Cybele as the personification of earth holding the horn of plenty and [the River God Scheldt] as the personification of water in the center.
The pair is crowned by the goddess Victoria and the union is heralded through a conch by the Triton below. The union symbolizes fertility, wealth and prosperity, specifically the city of Antwerp and the river Scheldt whose mouth in Rubens' times was blocked by the Dutch depriving Flanders of the access to the sea. The painting features a pyramidal composition, symmetry and the balance of forms. It was influenced by late Italian Renaissance, particularly by Venetian artists.
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A smaller copy of the painting made in the Rubens' workshop was owned by the Russian businessman Vladimir Logvinenko. Following the abolition of a thirty per cent import duty on artworks in 2004, Logvinenko brought the copy from London to Moscow.
Particulars
- Accession number
- ГЭ-464
In the catalog
Sources
- State Hermitage Museum: the museum's own open data · fetched 29 Aug 2026
- Image: State Hermitage Museum — Museum open access
