Peace and War' by Peter Paul Rubens

The Allegory of Peace and War' (National Gallery, London) by Peter Paul Rubens was painted as a gift for King Charles I during the artist's diplomatic sojourn in England from 1629 to 1630. It is generally conceded that the painting was created as a diplomatic gift. 'Peace and War' has been understood as a means of celebrating the success of the peace negotiations between Spain and England and encouraging Charles I to quickly ratify the peace treaty once it was delivered to England. One additional way to think about 'Peace and War' is in terms of the beholder, that is, through the lens of reception theory. To his reception of 'Peace and War,' Charles would have brought his zeal and connoisseurial expertise, his philosophies of sovereignty, and his participation in the gift economy. Charles accumulated one of the greatest collections of the seventeenth century and became a connoisseur of Venetian Renaissance painting, in particular. He was an individual who enjoyed the unraveling of allegory, which is apparent from his participation in court masques. Charles' philosophy of statecraft included the advocacy of peace and his role as protector of the realm, the 'parens patriae.' These were ideas that had been passed down to him from his father, King James I of England and IV of Scotland. When the painting is examined in its original reception environment, it becomes apparent that the manner of its acquisition would also have affected the way in which Charles perceived the painting. It was given as a gift from a Spanish envoy, and one who was also an internationally renowned artist. 'Peace and War' therefore must be contemplated in the context of gift giving, a practice that Charles understood from contemporary philosophies and traditions, and which one can now understand through the seminal work of the anthropologist Marcel Mauss and those who elaborated upon his theories. The painting would have appealed to the king to take up his role as a bestower of favor and reward. In this respect, the gift of 'Peace and War' may have played an important role in Rubens receiving the commission for the Banqueting House ceiling, where his role as an artist is visible to this day. The objective of this thesis is to explore the context of Rubens' opulent 'Peace and War' as a gift to a king from a diplomat and artist, and Charles' reception of the painting based on his own political ideologies and experience as a collector.