In analyzing Monteverdi's opera L'Orfeo, Nicolas Poussin's Orphée et Eurydice, Francois Perrier's Orpheus devant Pluton et Proserpine, and Rubens' Orpheus Vertraut auf die Hilfe der Unterweltsgotter, this thesis shows how Baroque masters utilized the Orpheus myth to illustrate the power of art and the human spirit, creating a sense of hope during the Baroque period. Although based on the tragic myth of Orpheus, none of the works focus on Orpheus' failure and death. Monteverdi's opera shows Orpheus' ultimate salvation, Poussin's painting illustrates the power of art where beauty overcomes the sadness of Eurydice's demise, and both Perrier's and Ruben's paintings focus on Orpheus' moment of success, though in different ways.

This thesis illustrates that Baroque masters were hopeful. Rather than condemning Orpheus to a life of misery followed by a painful death, they immortalized the ability of art and the human spirit to overcome the greatest obstacles.