Prometheus Bound by Peter Paul Rubens and the Golden Rectangle

Successive Golden Rectangles dividing a Golden Rectangle into squares (Prometheus Bound by Peter Paul Rubens).

Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640). Flemish painter, draughtsman and diplomat. He was the most versatile and influential Baroque artist of northern Europe in the 17th century. He is well-known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects.

Prometheus Bound (1611-12)
Peter Paul Rubens kept this enormous painting of Prometheus Bound in his personal collection for several years and in a letter of 1618 described it as one of his most important creations. Known to have collaborated with other artists, Rubens noted in the same letter that Frans Snyders, who was distinguished for his depictions of flowers and animals, had painted the eagle. This enormous bird, whose wings span the width of the canvas, tears the hero's powerfully muscled body with its sharp talons, rips open his side, and devours his liver. Source: Philadelphia Museum of Art.