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In early 1622, Rubens went to Paris for a contract to create oil paintings on the theme of the mother’s life of French King Louis XIII. Soon after returning from Paris, however, he also started working on a new work—a series of larger tapestry themed on the “life of Constantine the Great.” This work Constantine's Marriage is the earliest draft of this series. When making large decorative works, Rubens himself worked only on initial sketches and finishing, and left most of the processes to his assistants. In this sense, such a draft in oil as this one can be said to constitute an important aspect of Rubens’s art. Depicted here is the weddings of two couples: One couple is the Roman Emperor Constantine I (also known as Constantine the Great) and Fausta, and the other is the Roman Emperor Licinius and Constantia, sister of Constantine I. But the two weddings were actually held in 307 and 313 respectively. The reason that Rubens depicted the two different weddings together in one scene was to symbolize the significances of two important weddings—the wedding of French King Louis XIII and Anne d'Autriche, princess of Austria, and that of King Felipe IV of Spain and Elisabeth of France—that were held in 1614 by identifying with the ancient heroic deeds. Like this work, combining ancient figures with contemporary figures (of the 17th century) is one of the techniques frequently used in painting. This work depicts a small altar against the background of two statues of man and woman, highlighting ancient decorations. In the center of the picture, two children add spark to this sacred scene: One child is playing an aulos (an ancient Greek double reed instrument like oboe), and the other is holding a torch. These children are playing a role to bind two marrying couples. On the lower left corner is seen a sacrificial cow. On oil paintings prepared as drafts like this panel, the artist’s concepts and ideas were represented with his quick, skillful brushstrokes. These drafts minutely show Rubens’s talents as a great draughtsman—free, dynamic brushstrokes; rapid but subtle color tones that add a flow of light to faces and clothes of figures; and skillful compositions that can put together overlaid and complicated elements. The greatest Flemish painter exquisitely represents dynamic movements and vivid sentiments on this panel with his skilled and experienced techniques.