Breast Mass in a Rubens Painting

Abstract

Deformity of the breast and axilla observed in famous paintings is a fascinating field for the medico-artists. The attempt of a retrospective diagnosis of breast tumors is highly challenging. This paper deals with a Rubens painting portraying the heroine Judith with a visible but previously unreported left breast mass. Though speculative, the present medico-artistic diagnosis is of a tumor likely to be of benign nature. It is of interest that the present case is the sixth breast disease discovered in Rubens's works.

Figure 1

Judith with the Head of Holofernes (Book of Judith 13:11), Peter Paul Rubens (1617), oil on panel, 120×111 cm (47.2×43.7 in). On display at the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Kunstmuseum des Landes Niedersachsen, Braunschweig, Germany. Peter Paul Rubens [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Figure 2

Close-up of Figure 1. Left: The mass is highlighted in the grey scale pattern. Right: the boundaries of the mass are identified by the dotted white line.

Figure 3

A collation of all models depicted by Rubens in which breast diseases have been recognized. Top left: Detail of Samson and Delilah, Peter Paul Rubens (1609–10), oil on wood, 205×185 cm (81×73 in). On display at the National Gallery, London, UK. Peter Paul Rubens [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Top center: Detail of Judith with the Head of Holofernes, Peter Paul Rubens (1617), oil on panel, 120×111 cm (47.2×43.7 in). On display at the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Kunstmuseum des Landes Niedersachsen, Braunschweig, Germany. Top right: Detail of Orpheus and Eurydice, Peter Paul Rubens (1636–7), oil on canvas, 245×194 cm (96.4×76.3 in). On display at the Kunsthaus, Zürich, Switzerland. Peter Paul Rubens [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Bottom: The left Grace (left) and the right Grace (right) of The Three Graces, Peter Paul Rubens (1639), oil on canvas, 221×181 cm (87×71 in). On display at the Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain. Peter Paul Rubens [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Figure 4

A Comparison between the Judith with the Head of Holofernes (left) and the Portrait of Isabella Brant (right) by Rubens (c.1625), oil on canvas. On display at the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. Portrait of Isabella Brant by Peter Paul Rubens [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.