4. Peter Paul Rubens – Saturn Devouring His Son 1636
In Rubens’ painting Saturn exhibits less of the cannibalistic ferocity portrayed in Goya’s rendition. However, some critics have suggested that Rubens’ portrayal is the more horrific: the god is portrayed as a calculating remorseless killer, who – fearing for his own position of power – murders his innocent child. Goya’s vision, on the other hand, shows a man driven mad by the act of killing his own son. In addition, the body of the son in Goya’s picture is that of an adult, not the helpless baby depicted by Rubens. In this work the artist’s Saturn is shown daintily biting at his son as his eyes roll back in horror, the image might not have the gore or madness of the later work by Goya, but the fact that the painting is a more realistic rendition leaves the viewer genuinely disturbed.