Danuvius

Wisdom of the gods

Danuvius, a Celtic-Roman river deity, presides over the left half of the painting. Rubens infuses his mimic and gesture with the knowledge of forthcoming events: the victory of the two Ferdinands at Nördlingen which only prolongs the war and bloodshed.

In the river god’s hair we find two flowers, probably wood anemone and marsh marigold. Both plants, belonging to the crowfoot family, are poisonous and thought to repel witches and demons in the Middle Ages.