Beatrice Groves has talked of the importance of the Asian unicorn – the qilin, and its European equivalent in Secrets of Dumbledore. This is dramatically represented in six paintings of unicorns at battle in the restaurant scene. The clearest images I can find of the final five painting are in the ‘behind the scenes’ trailer posted by Film Riot (hat tip Beatrice!).
Now super sleuth Vincenzo Leone has identified the inspiration behind the first of the paintings (credit again to Dr Groves’s wonderful spot!):
The wizard battle painting we saw in the German Ministry of Magic are inspired by Peter Paul Rubens “La Muerte del Cónsul Decio” #FantasticBeasts #FantasticBeastsTheSecretsOfDumbledore #SecretsOfDumbledore #HarryPotter #warnerbros pic.twitter.com/ykGaIOOQI7
— Vincenzo Leone (@LeoVinks) April 17, 2022
Death of the Consol Publius Decius was painted by Rubens in 1616 as one of a set of eight models for a series of tapestries. The painting depicts the death of Decius in the battle of the republican Romans against the Latins in Italy. At a crucial moment in the battle the Consul sacrifices himself by charging his horse into the enemy as an act of spiritual devotion foretold in a prophetic dream.
Do any of the other paintings seem familiar? Let me know in the comments down below.
In the wake of the UK theatrical release of Fantastic Beasts: the Secrets of Dumbledore and the (long awaited) US release on 15th April, Beatrice Groves, Research Lecturer and tutor at Trinity College, Oxford, and author of 
In the run up to the cinematic release of 
In the second post to celebrate the countdown to the theatrical release of Fantastic Beasts: the Secrets of Dumbledore, Beatrice Groves, Research Lecturer and tutor at Trinity College, Oxford, and author of 
Recent Conversation