In 1625 Isabel Clara Eugenia commissioned from Peter Paul Rubens a stunning twenty-tapestry cycle... more In 1625 Isabel Clara Eugenia commissioned from Peter Paul Rubens a stunning twenty-tapestry cycle known as The Triumph of the Eucharist for the Royal Convent of the Discalced Clares in Madrid. In this cycle, Rubens designed eleven of the twenty tapestries to feature their narrative scenes in trompe l’oeil. It has long been argued that in doing so, Rubens sought to evoke the eleven curtains of the Jewish Tabernacle in the Temple of Solomon. This study reexamines the Solomonic theme through the political context of the series’ patron, the Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia, Archduchess of Austria and Governess General of the Netherlands. It posits that by calling on the Solomonic imagery, Isabel wished to liken herself to the fair and wise Old Testament leader, thereby metaphorically announcing her suitability to govern the Netherlands with a freer hand than she had been allowed up to that time.
In 1625 Isabel Clara Eugenia commissioned from Peter Paul Rubens a stunning twenty-tapestry cycle... more In 1625 Isabel Clara Eugenia commissioned from Peter Paul Rubens a stunning twenty-tapestry cycle known as The Triumph of the Eucharist for the Royal Convent of the Discalced Clares in Madrid. In this cycle, Rubens designed eleven of the twenty tapestries to feature their narrative scenes in trompe l’oeil. It has long been argued that in doing so, Rubens sought to evoke the eleven curtains of the Jewish Tabernacle in the Temple of Solomon. This study reexamines the Solomonic theme through the political context of the series’ patron, the Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia, Archduchess of Austria and Governess General of the Netherlands. It posits that by calling on the Solomonic imagery, Isabel wished to liken herself to the fair and wise Old Testament leader, thereby metaphorically announcing her suitability to govern the Netherlands with a freer hand than she had been allowed up to that time.
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http://jhna.org/index.php/vol-7-2-2015/313-alexandra-libby
http://jhna.org/index.php/vol-7-2-2015/313-alexandra-libby