DILIGENT POLITICAL AGENCY FOR BRANDING THE ART: RUBENS AND (CULTURAL) DIPLOMACY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbeuropaea.2025.2.03Keywords:
Rubens, art branding, Antwerp, humanism, art commissions, special envoy, cultural diplomacyAbstract
Peter Paul Rubens’ (1577-1640) agency as a (cultural) diplomat was characteristically interwoven not only with the extraordinarily intricate and troublesome historical and political contexts of his lifetime but also with his tremendous artistic ambitions and achievements. Considering the Flemish masters’ diligent commitment to both politics and art, the immense quantity of biographical research dedicated to Rubens has marginally enquired about the preeminence of any domain of Rubens’ engagement over the other. The present investigation attempts to find a plausible counterweight between Rubens’ assiduous activism in the worlds of art and politics, respectively, as a key of acknowledging his agency as a (cultural) diplomat. Consequently, certain insights regarding Rubens’ patriotism, the examination of his art within the intellectual tradition of Catholic humanism, and ultimately assessing the roles of diplomatic activism and artistic entrepreneurialism for branding his art could stand as persuasive arguments to illuminate on his (cultural) diplomatic agency at the puzzling crossroads between politics and art.
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