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.

概括

几个世纪以来，艺术史一直与流动性息息相关。对运动、其局限性和潜力的研究是该学科的基本原则。对运动的迷恋和拒绝是其大部分叙述的核心。然而，最近的艺术史分析主要关注艺术家的旅行（例如，在传记中描述的），忽略了他们对象的内在流动性和他们转移的复杂性。本文旨在通过关注佛兰德画家彼得·保罗·鲁本斯（1577-1640 年）的案例来填补这一学术空白，他是他这一代最杰出的艺术家之一，在泛欧洲范围内充分利用了新技术。他的大量信件，超过 250 封信件，揭示了有关包装和揭开程序的宝贵细节、加速货物的策略、对最快和更安全的道路的仔细评估、海关代理、包装员、司机、快递员和邮递员的姓名和职能——换句话说，所有细节流动性在日益流动的世界中的力学。本文分析了这种物流组合，以便更好地了解近代早期距离对流动物质的影响。