Stage in Memory of Isabella Clara Eugenia, plate 24 from Casperius Gevartius, Pompa Introitus Honori Serenissimi Principis Ferdinandi (Triumphal Entry of the Most Serene and Honorable Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand)
Medium
Engraving, with etching and plate tone, in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 50.2 × 38.5 cm (19 13/16 × 15 3/16 in.); Sheet: 55.5 × 39.4 cm (21 7/8 × 15 9/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
225660
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
On the occasion of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand’s triumphal entry into Antwerp in 1635, Peter Paul Rubens designed temporary arches and stages to decorate his procession route through the city. Triumphal processions of this kind were common forms of political theater, enacted to consolidate the power of a regent or monarch. The stage in memory of Isabella Clara Eugenia (2015.11) served to reinforce the dynastic transfer of authority from Ferdinand’s predecessor, who had governed the southern Nethe...