Rubens completed a number of works of the same title, the most notable of which are the ones he completed in 1636 and 1638. They illustrate his ideal form of a full-figured female body. The 1938 version is considered to be the last work created by Rubens, as at this time he was ill with gout, which led to his death in 1640. As a model for the women figures, he used his young bride, who in 1630 married the then-16 year old girl, and who often served as his idealized version of the female body. The painting was commissioned by the brother of the Spanish King, Philip IV. After his brother’s death, the king declared the painting immodest, and ordered it to be burned. Fortunately, he died before the painting could be ignited, and it now hangs in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain.
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