Explore the Rubens the diplomat of this artwork.
Peter Paul Rubens was not only a virtuosic painter but also a passionate and crafty diplomat. Rubens, although closely allied to Isabella and the Spanish Netherlands, often had occasion to travel and visit foreign monarchs in his position as a court painter.  Rubens associated with the dukes of Mantua, King Phillip IV, Charles I, and Marie de' Medici. He served as a negotiator for the Spanish Netherlands (and for the cause of peace more generally), and for France and England.
Indeed, Rubens lobbied for an end to the Thirty Years' War with considerable passion and cleverness. The painter sought to bring Spain and England, traditional enemies, to peace in the hopes that the Spanish would then pressure the Dutch into following suit. During this period Rubens carried messages, demands, and concession agreements back and forth between Phillip IV and Charles I to ultimately reach a conclusion. For his diplomatic work Rubens was eventually decreed a "gentleman of the household" by Isabella  and knighted by Charles I.This unique position as both a master painter and trusted diplomat clearly informed Consequences of War. The painting shows the artist's sincere desire for peace and his justified horror at how war has ravaged Europe. Indeed, his diplomatic work allowed him and burdened him with considerable knowledge of the state of the continent and the consequences war had wrought.
Thirty Years' War Peter Paul Rubens Marie de' Medici diplomat Spanish Netherlands Mantua Europe Isabella