Alpheus and Arethusa

This intimate painting depicts a scene from Ovid’s The Metamorphoses, an ancient Roman poem, in which the river god Alpheus menaces Arethusa, a nymph, as she bathes. Here, the hulking Alpheus climbs the riverbank in pursuit of the stout nymph, who looks back in fear as she flees. With his lush landscapes and unidealized figures, Uyttenbroeck belonged to the generation of artists who influenced the young Rembrandt van Rijn. Their work inspired the dramatic poses and gestures that Rembrandt adopted as a means of conveying emotion.