Itinerant Matters: Rubens and the Itineraries of Painting

Abstract

Summary The history of art has been engaged with mobility for centuries. The study of movement, its limits and potential, is a fundamental principle of the discipline. A fascination with, and rejection of movement lies at the core of much of its narrative. However, recent art historical analysis, which is concerned primarily with the travels of artists (as described, for example, in biographical accounts), overlooks both the intrinsic itinerancy of their objects and the intricacies of their transference. This paper aims to fill this scholarly lacuna by focusing on the case of the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), one of the most eminent artists of his generation to fully exploit the new technologies of transportation on a pan-European scale. His abundant correspondence, which counts over 250 letters, reveals precious details about packing and unveiling procedures, strategies for speeding up cargoes, careful assessments of the quickest and more secure roads, names and functions of custom agents, packers, drivers, couriers, and postmen—in other words, all the details concerning the mechanics of mobility in an increasingly itinerant world. This article analyzes this logistics concoction in order to better understand the impact of distance on itinerant matter in the Early Modern period.