Gender, Politics, and Allegory in the Art of Rubens

Lisa Rosenthal examines the intertwined relationship between paintings of family and marriage, and of war, peace, and statehood by the Flemish master. Drawing extensively upon recent critical and gender theory, she alters our view of Rubens' works and of the interpretive practices through which we engage them. Rosenthal's study offers new interpretations of canonical images, simultaneously bringing into view other powerful but less familiar works. Her focus on gender serves as a catalyst that creates an original way of reading visual allegory, and presents a dynamic multivalence undiscovered by traditional iconographic methods.