Sheldon Tapley takes a close look at the painting Samson and Delilah by Peter Paul Rubens in the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Tapley writes that "Rubens created flesh masterfully, so that it seems supple or firm, ruddy or pale, wrinkled or smooth, as he needed. Where it is illuminated, it has substance, in contrast to the translucent browns that make the shadows. The flesh in light would have been the third and final layer of paint, applied most slowly, blended with soft brushes, to build up the illusion of sculptural form."