Prometheus Being Chained by Vulcan

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Vulcan is the god of both beneficial and hindering fire, including the fire of volcanoes. Vulcan is often depicted with a blacksmith's hammer.... The Volcanalia was the annual festival held August 23 in his honor. His Greek counterpart is Hephaestus, the god of fire and smithery. In Etruscan religion, he is identified with Sethlans. The god belongs to the most ancient stage of Roman religion: Varro citing the Annales Maximi, recalls that king Titus Tatius had dedicated altars to a series of deities among which Vulcan is mentioned. The origin of the name is unclear and debated. Roman tradition maintained that it was related to Latin words connected to lightning , which in turn was thought of as related to flames. This interpretation is supported by Walter William Skeat in his etymological dictionary as meaning lustre. It has been supposed that his name was not Latin but related to that of the Cretean god Velchanos, a god of nature and the nether world. Wolfgang Meid has refused this identification as phantastic.
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The Dutch Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among... the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648. The Golden Age went on in peace time during the Dutch Republic until the end of the century. In 1568, the Seven Provinces that signed the Union of Utrecht started a rebellion against Philip II of Spain which led to the Eighty Years' War. Before the Low Countries could be completely reconquered, a war between England and Spain broke out, forcing the Spanish troops under Philip II to halt their advances. Meanwhile, Philip's Spanish troops had conquered the important trading cities of Bruges and Ghent. Antwerp, which was then arguably the most important port in the world, had to be conquered. On August 17, 1585 Antwerp fell, which initiated the delineation of the Southern Netherlands . The United Provinces fought on until the Twelve Years' Truce, which did not end the hostilities.
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Utrecht Caravaggism refers to those Baroque artists, all distinctly influenced by the art of Caravaggio, who were active mostly in the Dutch city of... Utrecht during the early part of the seventeenth century. Painters such as Dirck van Baburen, Gerrit van Honthorst and Hendrick Terbrugghen were all in Rome in the decade 1610–1620, a time when the chiaroscuro of Caravaggio's later style was very influential. Adam Elsheimer, also in Rome at the same time, was probably also an influence on them. Back in Utrecht, they painted mythological and religious history subjects and genre scenes, such as the card-players and gypsies that Caravaggio himself had abandoned in his later career. Utrecht was the most Catholic city in the United Provinces, still about 40% Catholic in the mid-17th century, and even more among the elite groups, who included many rural nobility and gentry with town houses there. It had previously been the main centre, after Haarlem, of Northern Mannerist painting in the Netherlands.
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