The Interpretation of Emblem Concordia by Andrea Alciato in Peter Paul Rubens and Diego Velázquez paintings

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu15.2020.108

Abstract

The article postulates that two famous paintings of the 17th century “The Surrender of Breda” by Diego Velazquez and “Meeting of the two Ferdinands” by Peter Paul Rubens were influenced by the emblem “Concordia” from Andrea Alciato’s book. This point of view has already been discussed repeatedly in relation to Velázquez’s painting, but for the first time it is expressed with reference to Rubens’s work. The hypothesis is justified by the analysis of the historical and cultural situation, mainly, by the materials related to the ceremonial entry of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand to Antwerp in April 1635. The painting “Meeting of the two Ferdinands” has also been considered in the context of the “solemn encounter” type of works, among which it occupies a particular place due to its emphasized centerpiece — handshake, symbolic motif, derived from the Roman antiquity. The new interpretation turns the emblem “Concordia” into a connecting link between the two works by Rubens and Velázquez. It further justifies the point of view of those researchers who wrote about the formal proximity of the two paintings. Both artworks were created at the same time (1634–1635), and their relationship does not seem to be a coincidence, although it remains unclear how two artists could learn about each other’s ideas. The article offers an answer to the long-posed question: why the significant handshake motif, taken from the “Concordia” emblem, is absent in Velázquez’s painting. The analysis of the work by the Spanish painter brings to light the complex allegorical composition, hidden behind the realistic manner of that historical canvas. The revealed distinction in regard to the mentioned emblem indicates the clandestine polemical position of the younger artist, who might have deliberately taken a similar theme after his older colleague, but made a completely different interpretation.

Keywords:

Andrea Alciato, Diego Velázquez, Peter Paul Rubens, Thirty Years War, emblem, antique tradition, historical picture, Breda, Nördlingen

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Author Biography

Maria A. Demidova, State Institute for Art Studies

PhD, Senior Researcher of the Department of the European Classical Art

References

Литература

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2. Gabriele, Mino, introduzione, traduzione e commento. Andrea Alciato. Il Libro degli Emblemi. Milano: Adelphi, 2009.

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6. Галерея Триумф. Торжественный въезд Инфанта Фердинанда Австрийского в Антверпен в 1635 году. Убранство города по эскизам П. П. Рубенса. Комментарий Каспара Гевартса. Гравюры Теодора ван Тюльдена: каталог. М.: Галерея Триумф, 2006.

7. Brown, Jonathan. “On the Origins of ‘Las Lanzas’ by Velazquez”. Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 27, Bd. H 3/4 (1964): 240–5.

8. O’Gorman, James F. “More about Velázquez and Alciati”. Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 28, Bd. H. 3 (1965): 225–8.

9. Moffitt, John F. “Diego Velázques, Andrea Alciati and the Surrender of Breda”. Artibus et Historiae 3, no. 5 (1982): 75–90.

10. Pettegree, Andrew, and Malcolm Walsby, eds. Netherlandish Books: Books Published in Low Countries and Dutch Books Printed Abroad Before 1601. 2 vols. Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2010, vol. 1.

11. Green, Henry. Andrea Alciati and his Books of Emblemes. London: Trübner & Co, 1872.

12. Alciato, Andrea. Omnia Andreae Alciati Emblemata. Adiectis commentariis Claudii Minois. Antverpiae: ex officina Christophori Plantini, 1574.

13. Justi, Carl. Diego Velazquez and his Time. Transl. by Augustus Henry Keane. London: H. Grevel & Co, 1889.

14. Cederlöf, Olle. “Källorna till ‘Las Lancas’”. Konsthistorisk Tidskrift 26 (1957): 43–62.

15. Hager, Werner. Diego Velazquez. Die Übergabe von Breda. Stuttgart: Reclam, 1956.

16. Bottineau, Yves, et Pietro Maria Bardi. Tout l’oeuvre peint de Velázquez. Paris: Flammarion, 1969.

17. Варшавская, Мария, науч. ред. Рубенс и фламандское барокко: каталог выставки к 400-летию со дня рождения Питера Пауля Рубенса, 1577–1977. Сост. М. Варшавская, Н. Грицай, Н. Смольская и др. Л.: Аврора, 1978.

18. Rooses, Max. L’oeuvre de P. P. Rubens. Histoire et description de ses tableaux et dessins. 4 vols. Anvers: Jos. Maes Editeur, 1888, vol. II.

19. Веджвуд, Сесиль Вероника. Тридцатилетняя война. Пер. И. Лобанов. М.: АСТ, 2015.

20. Bailey, Anthony. Velázques and The Surrender of Breda. The Making of a Masterpiece. New York: Henry Holt and Co, 2011.

21. Heinen, Ulrich. “Rubens’ Pictorial Diplomacy at War (1637/1638)”. Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarbook (NKJ) / Netherlands Yearbook for History of Art 55 (2004): 196–225.

22. Stapleford, Richard, and John Potter. “Velázquez’ ‘Las Hilanderas’”. Artibus et Historiae 8, no. 15 (1987): 159–81.

23. Ротенберг, Евсей. Западноевропейская живопись XVII века. Тематические принципы. М.: Искусство, 1989.

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25. McKim-Smith, Gridley. “On Velázquez’s Working Method”. The Art Bulletin 61, no. 4 (1979): 589–603.


References

1. Martin, John Rupert. The Decoration for the Pompa Introitus Ferdinandi. Brussels: Arcade Press, 1972.

2. Gabriele, Mino, introduzione, traduzione e commento. Andrea Alciato. Il Libro degli Emblemi. Milano: Adelphi, 2009.

3. Gottlieb, Carla. “An Emblematic source for Velazquez’ ‘Surrender of Breda’”. Gazette des Beaux-Arts 67 (1966): 181–6.

4. Mattingly, Harold. Roman Coins. Rus. ed. Moscow: Collector’s Books Publ., 2005. (In Russian)

5. Egorova, Kseniia, comp. and comment. Peter Paul Rubens. Letters. Documents. Assessments of Contemporaries. Transl. by A. Akhmatova, N. Braginskaia and K. Egorova. Moscow: Iskusstvo Publ., 1977. (In Russian)

6. Galereia Triumf. The Ceremonial Entry of the Infante Ferdinand of Austria into Antwerp in 1635. Decoration of the City According to the Sketches of P. P. Rubens. Review of Caspar Gevaerts. Engravings by Theodore van Tulden: Catalogue. Moscow: Galereia Triumf Publ., 2006. (In Russian)

7. Brown, Jonathan. “On the Origins of ‘Las Lanzas’ by Velazquez”. Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 27, Bd. H 3/4 (1964): 240–5.

8. O’Gorman, James F. “More about Velázquez and Alciati”. Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 28, Bd. H. 3 (1965): 225–8.

9. Moffitt, John F. “Diego Velázques, Andrea Alciati and the Surrender of Breda”. Artibus et Historiae 3, no. 5 (1982): 75–90.

10. Pettegree, Andrew, and Malcolm Walsby, eds. Netherlandish Books: Books published in Low Countries and Dutch books printed abroad before 1601. 2 vols. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2010, vol. 1.

11. Green, Henry. Andrea Alciati and his Books of Emblemes. London: Trübner & Co, 1872.

12. Alciato, Andrea. Omnia Andreae Alciati Emblemata. Adiectis commentariis Claudii Minois. Antverpiae: ex officina Christophori Plantini, 1574.

13. Justi, Carl. Diego Velazquez and his Time. Transl. by Augustus Henry Keane. London: H. Grevel & Co, 1889.

14. Cederlöf, Olle. “Källorna till ‘Las Lancas’”. Konsthistorisk Tidskrift 26 (1957): 43–62.

15. Hager, Werner. Diego Velazquez. Die Übergabe von Breda. Stuttgart: Reclam, 1956.

16. Bottineau, Yves, et Pietro Maria Bardi. Tout l’oeuvre peint de Velázquez. Paris: Flammarion, 1969.

17. Varshavskaya, Maria, ed. Rubens and the Flemish Baroque: Exhibition Catalogue for the 400th Anniversary of Peter Paul Rubens, 1577–1977. Comp. by M. Varshavskaya, N. Gritsay, N. Smolskaya et al. Leningrad: Aurora Publ., 1978. (In Russian)

18. Rooses, Max. L’oeuvre de P. P. Rubens. Histoire et description de ses tableaux et dessins. 4 vols. Anvers: Jos. Maes Editeur, 1888, vol. II.

19. Wedgwood, Cicely Veronica. The Thirty Years War. Rus. ed. Transl. by I. Lobanov. Moscow: AST Publ., 2015. (In Russian)

20. Bailey, Anthony. Velázques and the Surrender of Breda. The Making of a Masterpiece. New York: Henry Holt and Co, 2011.

21. Heinen, Ulrich. “Rubens’ Pictorial Diplomacy at War (1637/1638)”. Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarbook (NKJ) / Netherlands Yearbook for History of Art 55 (2004): 196–225.

22. Stapleford, Richard, and John Potter. “Velázquez’ ‘Las Hilanderas’”. Artibus et Historiae 8, no. 15 (1987):159–81.

23. Rotenberg, Evsei. Western European Painting of the 17th Century. Thematic Principles. Moscow: Iskusstvo Publ., 1989. (In Russian)

24. Iakimovich, Aleksandr. “The Social Foundation in the Art of Velasquez”. Sovetskoe iskusstvoznanie’83 18, no. 1 (1984): 88–122. (In Russian)

25. McKim-Smith, Gridley. “On Velázquez’s Working Method”. The Art Bulletin 61, no. 4 (1979): 589–603.

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Published

2020-03-20

How to Cite

Demidova, M. A. . (2020). The Interpretation of Emblem Concordia by Andrea Alciato in Peter Paul Rubens and Diego Velázquez paintings. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Arts, 10(1), 152–176. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu15.2020.108

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2020)

Section

Visual arts

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Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Arts" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.