Rubens and the Dominican Church in Antwerp

This book is about the Dominican church in Antwerp (today St Paul’s). It is structured around three works of art, made or procured by Peter Paul Rubens: the Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary cycle (in situ), Caravaggio’s Rosary Madonna (Vienna) and the Wrath of Christ high altarpiece (Lyon). Within the artist’s lifetime, the church and monastery were completely rebuilt, creating one of the most spectacular sacred spaces in Northern Europe. The author reconceptualises early modern churches as theatres of political economy, advancing an original approach to cultural production in a time of war. Using methodologies at the cutting edge of the humanities, the place of St Paul’s is restored to the crux of Antwerp’s commercial, civic and religious life.

Adam Sammut, PhD (1990), University of York, is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of History of Art. He has published articles on Dutch and Flemish art in Review of Scottish Culture, Dutch Crossing and Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek.