# @gettymuseum on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CXWwjDkvE6P
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/34228733-gettymuseum-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/e3698d5099.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-12-11T20:15:03.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Getty (@gettymuseum) — https://gondola.cc/gettymuseum

## Caption

What kind of things do you like to collect? Postcards? Action figures? Decorative mugs? How about 2,000-year-old carved gemstones? 

Peter Paul Rubens wasn't just a renowned artist in his own day, he was also an avid art collector. He particularly admired ancient carved gemstones, such as this tiny but vibrant amethyst in the Getty Villa's collection. This Roman intaglio has been carved in counter-relief (cut into the flat stone surface) with the bust of Demosthenes, a famous Athenian orator. 

Swipe left to compare it with a Roman sardonyx cameo that depicts the marriage of Cupid and Psyche. This gemstone has been carefully carved in raised relief, so that the darkest layer of stone serves as a backdrop for the cream-colored figures. 

Carved gemstones such as these were high-status objects that signified their owner's wealth and prestige. Roman emperors would commission massive cameos to flaunt their imperial power. Swipe to see Rubens's oil painting of the Gemma Tiberiana, the largest cameo to survive from antiquity, which had just recently been rediscovered by his friend and collaborator, Peiresc. The sardonyx cameo celebrates the military exploits of Germanicus, a popular Roman general and heir to the emperor Tiberius. 

Rubens was so taken by the expressive potential of carved gemstones that he recreated them in many sketches and paintings, and even hoped to publish a gem catalogue filled with his own illustrations. The publication was never completed, but these miniature masterpieces continued to inspire Rubens. Swipe to the final image, Rubens's oil sketch "Allegory of War," and now swipe back to the painting of the large cameo. Do you see any similarities? Look near the bottom of the cameo! Rubens used the pose and gesture of the defeated enemies on the Gemma Tiberiana to compose his own powerfully evocative depiction of a woman mourning the destruction of war. 

See these objects in the Getty Villa exhibition "Rubens: Picturing Antiquity," through January 24, 2022. 
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🏷 #GettyMuseum #GettyVilla #AncientWorld #Antiquity  #Rubens #Gemstones #Paintings #OnView

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## Tags

gettymuseum, gettyvilla, ancientworld, rubens, onview, gemstones, antiquity, paintings

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