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R ubens and the bird of paradise. Painting natural knowledge in the early seventeenth century
Author(s) -
Marcaida José Ramón
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
renaissance studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.117
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1477-4658
pISSN - 0269-1213
DOI - 10.1111/rest.12011
Subject(s) - painting , motif (music) , paradise , exoticism , symbol (formal) , cult , art , politics , context (archaeology) , representation (politics) , religiosity , art history , literature , history , visual arts , aesthetics , archaeology , ancient history , philosophy , law , theology , political science , linguistics
This paper explores the interconnections between early modern natural history and E uropean visual culture by focusing on the representation of a single motif, the bird of paradise, in one of P eter P aul R ubens's most celebrated paintings: the Adoration of the Magi (1609; 1628–29), now in the collection of the M useo del P rado in M adrid. Portrayed as an aigrette in the B lack M agus's headwear, the bird of paradise is interpreted as a symbol of exoticism and geographical diversity, in a painting of unmistakable Counter‐Reformist facture, produced in a context of tense religious and political disputes and conflicting commercial interests. By considering the representation of this motif in the P rado A doration as well as in other works by Rubens and his contemporaries, this paper studies the contribution of artists and paintings to the dissemination of natural knowledge, and examines early modern visual culture as part of a wider context shaped by religiosity, political interests, the cult of the exotic and global trade.