Finding of Romulus and Remus (c.1612) Peter Paul Rubens.
We always joke that there isn’t an art museum in the world that doesn’t have at least 1 Rubens and the Capitoline Museum is no exception.

According to Roman legend, Rome was founded by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus in 753 BC. They were the sons of the war god Mars and the Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia. Fearing a challenge to his power, their great-uncle Amulius ordered the infants to be cast into the River Tiber. Instead of perishing, the twins were carried safely to shore, where they were miraculously nourished by a she-wolf beneath a fig tree. They were later discovered and raised by the shepherd Faustulus and his wife.
Rubens’ painting depicts this pivotal moment in the myth: Faustulus finds the abandoned twins as they are being suckled by the she-wolf, ensuring their survival and paving the way for Rome’s future foundation. Rubens enriches the scene with symbolic figures, including Rhea Silvia, the twins’ mother, and the reclining river god Tiber, whose waters both threatened and ultimately protected the children. The prominent fig tree (Ficus Ruminalis) refers to the sacred tree associated with the legend. By focusing on the dramatic rescue rather than the later founding of the city, Rubens captures the miraculous beginning of the story from which Rome’s destiny would emerge.