In Antwerp Cathedral of Our Lady, there are a number of Rubens paintings. Rubens lived here 1609-1621. This particular painting by him is called "The Elevation Of The Cross". One thing I noticed was how Jesus and those involved in the raising of the cross had been painted with a very solid, muscly and healthy looking figures. Having visited Florence a couple of years ago, I remain intrigued as to why so many of the great artists devoted so much (in many cases all) of their lives to paintings of religious themes. One explanation could simply be supply & demand - its what brought the money in. Indeed, Rubens spent well over a year of his life painting this particular picture and his wealth during his Antwerp period is well documented. I secretly wonder if they ever found these themes boring - it would be like Damian Hurst constantly painting the same scenes from "Lord of The Rings".