Changing Perceptions Between the Rubens Centennials in 1877 and 1977

Artl@s Bulletin

Volume 10 Issue 1 Images in Circulation Article 5

The Copy & The Real Thing: Changing Perceptions Between the Rubens Centennials in 1877 and 1977

Griet Bonne Ghent University, Belgium, [email protected]

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Recommended Citation Bonne, Griet. "The Copy & The Real Thing: Changing Perceptions Between the Rubens Centennials in 1877 and 1977." Artl@s Bulletin 10, no. 1 (2021): Article 5.

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The Copy & the Real Thing: Changing Perceptions Between the Rubens Centennials in 1877 and 1977.

Ghent University Griet Bonne Abstract

In this paper I examine the changing relationship between mechanical reproductions and the original artwork in the context of the Rubensdouble centennials logic of image in 1877 perception and 1977. Drawing on theorists such as Walter Benjamin, Dean MacCannell, Hans Belting and Boris Groys, I argue that the mechanism of copying generates a : a simultaneous centrifugal and centripetal circulation of images that affects how people perceive art in modern society. I explore this perception dynamic by looking at two photo-exhibitions during the Rubens centennials. Samenvatting

Dit artikel bestudeert de relatie tussen mechanische reproducties en het originele kunstwerk in de context van de Rubensfeestendubbele logica in 1877 van en beeldperceptie 1977. Voortbouwend op theoretici zoals Walter Benjamin, Dean MacCannell, Hans Belting en Boris Groys wordt beargumenteerd dat reproductiemechanismen een dynamiek van het kijken introduceren: een gelijktij- dige centrifugale en centripetale circulatie van beelden beïnvloedt onze perceptie van kunst in de moderne samenleving. Deze wordt vervolgens onderzocht aan de hand van twee fototentoonstellingen in het kader van de Rubensfeesten.

Griet Bonne (BE) holds an MA in Art History and a Postgraduate Degree in Curatorial Studies. She is currently enrolled as a PhD-researcher (FWO) at Ghent University. Bonne’s research interests concern the formal characteristics of mechanical reproduction media in a pre-digital age, and their shifting agency in relation to the original artworks.

Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021) Bonne – The Copy & the Real Thing

5 It is the mechanical reproduction phase of sacralization a model. Besides folk festivities, an art program that is most responsible for setting the tourist in motion was set up, including a literary and an artistic aca- on his journey to find the true object. And he is not disappointed.1 Alongside the copies of it, it has to be The Real Thing. demic congress, the inauguration of a new bust, the opening of the Plantin-Moretus Museum, an art his- Reading Dean MacCannell’s analysis of modern torical competition to write the history of the Ant-

tourism, it becomes clear that the circulation of werp School, the ceremonial performance6 of Peter mechanical reproductions affects the modern con- Benoit’s pompous Rubens Cantata, and three art aura 7 ception and reception of art. Commenting on Wal- exhibitions. For the occasion, the city was deco-

ter Benjamin’s observation of a loss 2of in the rated with triumphal arches and a historical parade mechanically reproduced artwork, MacCannell marched through the streets of Antwerp, which was argues that mechanical reproductions serve as only one of the attempts to incorporate an art his- markers that—instead of desacralizing art works, torical awareness into the Rubens Cult. Neverthe- as Benjamin suggested—constitute the aura of the less, the hybrid character of the 1877 celebrations original, by creating the desire to be as near as pos- was received rather critically by the foreign visitors. sible to the original picture of that reproduction. Especially the folk festivities and the prominent Boris Groys agrees with MacCannell, stating that proliferation of Antwerp was reported to distract

the aura “emerges3 precisely at the very moment it from the artist’s achievements. Tellingly, the largest is fading.” In other words, only because of its mul- proportion of the total budget of 378,000 francs was Congrès artis- tiplication through copies does an original become spent on the triumphal arches and the historical pa- tique 8 unique. Groys understands the difference between rade (Fig. 1). However, the academic original and copy therefore as a topological ques- , organized by the Cercle artistique littéraire et tion. The original acquires an aura through a fixed scientifique, proved to be an important catalyst for

context, whereas reproduction4 indicates displace- the art historical study of Rubens. In the invitation

ment and circulation. The manifestationsth th orga- letter for the congress, we read a confidence in mo- nized in the context of the 300 and 400 birthday dernity as the only way to get to grips with the past: celebration of Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, In this ardent melee, which marks our time in tran- in 1877 and 1977 respectively, form an interesting sition, we should ask ourselves whether it is not case study to examine this topological dimension. appropriate to establish our ties of affiliation with The Rubens Centennials the past and, while claiming the glorious heritage

and their Incorporation of of our ancestors, to let it be extensively permeated9 Mechanical Reproductions by the powerful breath of modern ideas.

5 A draft of a letter dated 9 March 1876 and addressed to the municipal administration of Florence is kept in the city archives of Antwerp. The letter requests to send the of- The 1877 centennial was one of the biggest cul- ficial program of the festivities organized for the Michelangelo Buonarroti centennial in 1875. The city council of Antwerp thereupon received several programs of the Mi- tural events of nineteenth-century Antwerp, for chelangelo celebrations. See: 1877, Rubensfeesten: Internationale zangwedstrijd en which international examples such as the Michel- andere:6 Programma, 642#63, 1877, Antwerp: Felixarchief. The cantata was performed by approximatelye 1,200 performers, on a stageDe Vlaamse built in angelo celebration in Florence in 1875 served as frontSchool of Rubens’ statue. See: Désiré Van Spilbeeck, “Stad Antwerpen: Groote gemeen- tefeestenGrandes terfêtes gelegenheid communales der à l’occasion300 geboorteverjaring du 300e anniversaire van P. P.de Rubens,” la naissance de P. P. 7Rubens 23 du (1877): 17 au 27 158. août 1877 : Programme The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class Antwerpiensia: 1 Losse8 Bijdragen tot de Antwerpsche Geschiedenis. Antwerp : Ville d’Anvers, 1877. Dean MacCannell, (New York: SchockenFilm For more information on the 1877 celebrations, see: Floris Prims, Books,Theory2 1976),and Criticism: 45. Introductory Readings (Antwerp: De Vlijt, 1927),De Roem207–214; van See Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” in Das RubensDominique Herwijn, “Bijdragen tot de evolutie van het toerisme: Antwerpen, 1877- Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit (Fourth Edition), eds. Gerald Mast, Marshall 1914” (Lic. Diss., Ghent University, 1984), 249; Antoon Van Ruyssevelt, Cohen, and Leo Braudy (Oxford:Zeitschrift Oxford für Sozialforschung University Press, 1992). The original text, 9 (Antwerp: Archief en Museum voor het Vlaamse Cultuurleven, 1977), 48–49. Antinomies (1935), ofwas Art first and published Culture: Unless otherwise indicated, translations are mine. “Dans cette mêlée ardente qui in3Modernity, a French translationPostmodernity, in Contemporaneity V (1936): 40–68. marque notre époque de transition, nous nous sommes demandé s’il ne convenait pas. Boris Groys, “The Topology of Contemporary Art,” in d’établir nos liens de filiation avec le passé et, tout en revendiquantBrochure le Congrès glorieux Artistique héritage , eds. Terry Smith, Okwui Enwezor, and de nos ancêtres, d’y laisser pénétrer largement le souffle puissant des idées modernes ”

4Nancy Condee (Durham: Duke University Press, 2008), 73. Le Cercle Artistique, Littéraire et Scientifique d’Anvers, , Groys “The Topology of Contemporary Art,” 73. 1877, Génard: Rubens en Rubensfeesten 1877, PK#3111, Antwerp: Felixarchief. 61 Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021)

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Figure 1 The Rubens Centennial in Antwerp – The Performance of the Cantata at the Foot of Rubens’ Statue The Rubens Centennial in Antwerp - The Triumph of Rubens in the Historical Parade, Le Monde illustré . M. Scott, and M. Lix, after sketches by M. Von Elliot, spread in 21, no. 1065 (8 September 1877): 156-157, Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.

The congress explicitly discussed the potentials of de Belgique decided to render a general overview L’œuvre de P.P. Rubens new visual technologies for documentary and ar- of Rubens’ oeuvre by combining drawings with re- 10 1577 1877: Gravures, Photographies, Dessins, Docu- chival purposes, which is indicative of the centen- productions and documents. ments, etc nial’s embrace of mechanical reproductions for the – 12 sake of completeness. The largest exhibition in the . collected graphic reproductions from Museum of Fine Arts, for example, used mechanical collections in Antwerp, Brussels, and Haarlem, cov- reproductions as stand-ins for the originals next to ering almost all the artist’s paintings. The works engraved reproductions. The initial aim of the city for which no (satisfactory) print was found were council to organize an exhibition assembling a rep- represented by photographs, sent to the museum resentative selection of Rubens’ paintings—as had from numerous European collections. In multiple

already been announced11 in the international press— instances, two engravings, or an engraving and a

seemed too ambitious. The plan was put aside, photograph, were compared to allow13 a better un- only to be successfully reconsidered for the 1977 derstanding of the original invention. At the time celebrations. Instead, the Académie d’archéologie of the 1877 festivities, the public approached me- Compte-rendu du congrès ar- chanical reproductions of Rubens’ oil paintings, 10tistique de 1877 Le Cercle artistique, littéraire et scientifique d’Anvers, 11 (Antwerp: J.E. Buschmann, 1878), 468–469. 12 L’œuvre de P.P. Rubens: Catalogue de l’exposition Through informal inquiries in several European countries, the city council found out 13 17 July – 19 September 1877, Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. that not many collections were prepared to take the risks associated with a loan. See: (Antwerp: Imprimerie Guil. Van Herwijn, “Bijdragen tot de evolutie van het toerisme,” 241–242. Merlen, 1877), viii-xi. 62 Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021)

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sketches, and drawings, much in the same way as they approached the originals; framed against

the museum wall14 they visualized the vastness of Rubens’ oeuvre.

Compared to the previous centennial, the 1977 program was conceived far more as a yearlong art festival scattered through the city of Antwerp, with

concerts, theater plays,15 walking tours, and no less than 17 exhibitions. Among these exhibitions was

“presumably16 the last great exhibition on Rubens in history,” which assembled a hundred paintings and oil sketches and about sixty drawings by the master

from international private and public17 collections in the Antwerp Museum of Fine Arts. Apart from an academic colloquium, Unesco organized a series of

lectures, claiming 18the cosmopolitan diplomat as an ideal ambassador. Never had there been so many experts, knowledge, and art works assembled so close to Rubens’ former studio. But although Ant- werp remained the main site, the festivities exceeded the local scale and substantial exhibitions on Rubens

were organized in major museums in Paris,19 Lon- Figure 2. don, Vienna, Cologne, Leningrad, Florence, etc. The Descent from the Cross PhotographRubensjaar of a shop 1977: window Herinneringsalbum, displaying a color extra reproductijdschrift- Rubens Year not only reached further in geographi- vantion deof stada detail Antwerpen of Rubens’ (1611-1614). Source: “Rubens in de Stad,” cal terms, it also expanded visually, by means of me- (1978), 194. chanical reproductions. While in 1877, mechanical reproductions were mainly contained within the incontournable 20 limits of the exhibitions and the art historical con- within the social space (Fig. 2). Reproductions were gress, in 1977, Rubens’ oeuvre was sold in all the souvenir shops, alongside Rubens beer The Fame of Rubens Rubens and Rubens pie, triggering a self-conscious reflex in Now: A Concept or a Commodity? 21 14 exhibitions such as and It should be noted that mechanical reproduction also circulated outside the muLes- 22 Chefsseum d’œuvreswalls. Photographs du Musée d’Anvers of Rubens’ paintings in the collection of the Antwerp mu- The national radio seum could be purchased via theRubens-guide: concierge, along guide with complet the museum de l’étranger catalogue, à Anvers , illustrated with woodburytypes and albumen prints

by Joseph Maes. See : J. Dupont, 20 (Antwerp : J. Theunis, 1877), 51. The Belgian author Désiré Van Spilbeeck attested As with the previous centennial, the figure of Rubens was predominant in the streets. to the master’s inevitable presence, in the form of engravings and collotypes of his In 1977, it was Antwerp’s recently acquired self-portrait in the Rubens House, and no portraits (mainly the ones from Windsor Castle and Vienna), which were printed on longer the ones from Windsor or Vienna, that served as the model for merchandize, all kinds of souvenirs such as postcards, bags, scarves, liqueurs, cigar boxes, medals stamps, leaflets, etc. Besides, in comparison to the 1877 edition, the diversification of etc.Programma See: Van Spilbeeck, Rubensjaar “Groote 1577-1977 gemeentefeesten,” 156. Still, it was mainly the artist’s mechanical reproductions was significant. On the one hand, technological innovations 15image, and not so much his artworks that entered the social space of everyday life. allowed for an unparalleled variety of appearances (e.g. black-and-white versus color , 1977, Rubensjaar 1977: Programma, 1217#9, images, details and close-ups, still versus moving images) and of reproduction media

Antwerp:16 Felixarchief. (e.g. printed, projected and broadcast reproductions). On the other hand, hundred According to Rika de Backer, Minister of Dutch Culture, in her opening speech to the years of image circulation made visible a much greater variety of VirginRubens’ and artworks Child in on a exhibition, “an almost irrational gestureTijdschrift of respectder stad towards Antwerpen the city of the artist,” was Garlandpostcards, of Flowersposters, beer coasters, cigar bands, etc. In the context of a flower contest, shown by the lending institutions for taking the risks of transportation. See: “Ruben- for example, an 80cm high color reproduction of the Louvre’s sjaar 1977: herinneringsalbum,” (1978): 131. The lack (1621) was given to every florist in the city as part of a window dis- of Programmasuch gesture Rubensjaar is what forced 1577-1977 the committee of the 1877 celebrations to work with play where real garlands surrounded the reproduction. The original artwork could be reproductions.17 See Herwijn, “Bijdragen tot de evolutie van het toerisme,” 242–244. contemplated in the exhibition in the Antwerp Museum of Fine Arts. See: “Rubensjaar P.P. Rubens: Paintings – Oilsketches – Drawings. 28 June – 30 September 1977, Museum of Fine 1977:21 herinneringsalbum,” 197. De Roem van Rubens Arts Antwerp. Catalogue of the exhibition: R.A. d’Hulst, A. Monballieu and Y. Morel, 18 June – 25 September 1977, Archief en Museum voor het Vlaamse Cultuurleven (Antwerp: Museum voor Schone Kun- Antwerp. Catalogue of the exhibition: Antoon Van Ruyssevelt, sten,18 1977). U en Ebes-Oost (Antwerp:22 Archief en Museum voor het Vlaamse Cultuurleven, 1977). ProgrammaLeona Detiège, Rubensjaar “Gelegenheidsrede 1577-1977 Ebes-expo: Peter Paul Rubens, reproducties in 7 May – Rubens19 June nu: 1977, Een ICC begrip Antwerp. of een 16product? September – 23 Oktober 1977, Provinciaal Antwerps19 bezit,” 15 (1977): 25. Begijnhof Hasselt. Catalogue of the exhibition: Flor Bex, Ludo Raskin and Els van de . Gehuchte, (Antwerp: ICC, 1977). 63 Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021)

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published a slide series to be used in classrooms.24 reproduction practice, making him one of the first Belgian television released two documentaries for Flemish masters to consciously engage with the re- Chasing Rubens 28 the youth that were also screened in the25 exhibition26 producibility of his work. Rubens employed mul- for educational support. The BBC tiple craftsmen to translate the subtle tonalities

and other foreign broadcasters followed Belgium’s and painterly qualities of 29his canvasses into a linear, lead, covering the festivities in news items and mak- black and white medium. By the end of his life, his ing art documentaries on the masters’ life and work. work was dispersed over the European continent, Although Groys’ topological distinction—drawing not only through commissions by patrons based in on Benjamin’s aura-conception—seems to suggest various countries, but also via prints. It is through

a strict separation between the eternal presence of graphic reproductions30 that Rubens’ vast oeuvre the original and the social reality of the copy, both took shape. Rubens centennials demonstrate how mechanical The Double Logic of Image Perception reproductions are often used jointly with originals, in the same physical space. They illustrate the in- dispensability of mechanical reproductions within double logic of image perception What Rubens set in motion with his reproduc- the art historical paradigm and reveal how, by 1977, tion practice is a : people needed modern remediation in order to through their remediation, reproductions initiate make sense of paintings. a centrifugal movement that spreads the work’s This leaves us with the question of what the circula- image to a broader audience, simultaneously caus- tion of reproductions within modern society teaches ing a centripetal force that enables us to see and us about the relation between the copy and “The Real approach these images as part of a comprehensive Thing?” Their interconnection is not a simple cause- oeuvre. Ever since, the circulation of artistic images and-effect relation with the original preceding the has evolved in the mutual interplay between the copy. Copies affect the availability, interpretation, trajectory of pictorial media and people; but the and significance of the original. This reciprocity is age of mechanical reproductions took this percep- clearly in play in the 1877 and 1977 celebrations of tion dynamic to a whole new level, decisively shift- Rubens, whose own oeuvre is inherently connected ing our reception of art. the centrifugal movement with copying and reproducing. On his journeys In order to understand , through Italy, Rubens copied Renaissance masters 27 that is to understand how the artwork’s image cir- such as Raphael and Titian extensively. The latter’s image culates and accumulates, we first need to define that collaborations with Flemish engraver Cornelis Cort : What is reproduced is not the artwork itself, provided the blueprint for Rubens’ well-organized Radiovisie schooljaar 1976-1977: P.P. Rubens the carefully applied painted layers on panel or can- 23 Radiovisie schooljaar 1976-1977: P.P. Marc Rubens Vandenven and Jo de Meester, vas, framed and protected for generations to come. (Brussels: B.R.T.-Schooluitzendingen, 1977). See: , 1976/1977,Rubens: Schooluitzendingen de schilder Kleurendiareeksen, 260.086, Brussels: What is reproduced, is that part of the artwork that VRT24 Archieven. Rubens: de tekenaar (1) Jo De Meester, , 14 February 1977, 24’42”, color, 16mm, can not only be perceived,31 but also transferred onto BRT School Television, Aesthetic Education. (2) Jo De Meester, , another medium. The centrifugal movement is 2511 March 1977, 20’ 32”, color, 16mm, BRTRubens School achterna Television, Aesthetic Education. Copyright Rubens: Rubens en de grafiek 18 March – 20 September 1977, Hessenhuis Antwerp. Catalogue of the exhibition: 28 Educatieve Dienst Stedelijke Musea, (Antwerp: Stad Antwerpen, Ger Luijten, “Titiaan als Rolmodel,”Copyright in Rubens: Rubens en de grafiek , ed. 1977). The educational exhibition situated the artist and his oeuvre in the Baroque 29Nico Van Hout (Ghent: Ludion, 2004), 18–22. age. The BRT School Service provided a sonorized slide projection and two-color Paul Huvenne, Introduction to , ed. Nico Van

filmsth shown in loop. The exhibition also presented original prints, objects from the Hout (Ghent: Ludion, 2004), 10–16. In a letter to Pierre Van Veen on 23 January 1619, 17 century, and photographic reproductions on largeRubens: panels. 1577-1640 See: “Rubensjaar 1977: Rubens wrote that he preferred a young engraver—referring to Lucas Vorsterman— 26herinneringsalbum,” 84. drivenCorrespondance to make the best de possible Rubens translationet documents of the épistolaires artwork, ratherconcernant than asa well-known vie et ses Noteworthy is the eighty minuteLetter longfrom documentaryLornath Pegram to Frans Baudouin by on Lorna 24 Janu Pe- œuvresartist whoTome had deuxième already developed a personal style. See Max Rooses and Charles Rue- gram,ary 1977 broadcast on the evening of June 28 , coinciding with the opening of the major lens, exhibition in Antwerp. See: 30 , (Antwerp: Joseph Maes, éditeur, 1898), 199–210.Untersuchungen zur , 1977, Verslagen Coördinatie Comité Rubensjaar 1977, 1217#18, Antwerp: Reproduktionsgraphik For an understanding der of Rubenswerkstatt the organization of Rubens’ reproduction workshop and 27Felixarchief. , Copies and Ad- its importance within his studio practice, see Ingeborg Pohlen, aptations For an from extensive Renaissance catalogue and ofLater Rubens’ Artists. copies Italian after Masters Italian masters, see Corpus 31 (Munich: Scanec, 1985). Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard part XXVI, 6 volumes: Wood, Jeremy I would like to refer here to Hans Belting’s distinction between picture and image, (London: Miller, 2010). and his understanding of an image as that which circulates between pictorial media 64 Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021)

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34 therefore first and foremost a technological pro- earlier, with perspective.” The true difference be- cess, involving the accumulation and dispersion of tween the impact of photography and engraving at an artwork’s image by remediating it. What image the end of the nineteenth century was not so much mobility is transferred is highly dependent on the technical their ability to consistently represent the original qualities of the reproduction medium itself, and image, but rather their . Photography was the artwork’s image thus changes according to the not only cheaper and faster to produce, both its medium that duplicates it. But, as important tech- means of production and the product itself traveled nology is the altered context in which we encounter more easily. Since its technology was adapted to the reproduced images; and how this context affects the printing press, photomechanical reproductions our way of seeing. are offered to us as synoptic representations by print media, which, as a newly established entity, The breakthrough of photography as a reproduction 35 can be distributed again. In magazines, postcards, medium in the 1870s was not so much engendered and art books, the meaning of images is affected by the medium’s ability to accurately reproduce the by their juxtaposition with other images or textual artwork’s image, which until then had proved very 36 32 information. ineffective with oil paintings. In fact, instead of reproducing Rubens’ paintings directly, late nine- This potential to present new visual unities was teenth century catalogues often photo-mechani- increased by the moving camera, which gener- cally reproduced the widely available engravings ated visual knowledge not only through the mon- L’Œuvre de P.P. Rubens after the master. Max Rooses’ extensively illustrated tage of various images, but also by decomposing Fédération Internationale du Film sur l’Art catalogue, (1886-1892), for a single artwork (Fig. 4). At the first conference example—which remained the primary reference of the for Rubens’ oeuvre for several decades—strikingly in Paris in 1948, the Louvre’s chief conservator included only one mechanical reproduction made of paintings, René Huyghe, reported enthusiasti- directly from an oil painting (plate 4). All the 429 cally on the new medium’s potential for art analy- Rubens et son temps37 other collotypes were taken from engravings or sis. Having made one of the first art films in color, original drawings, because of their favorable linear, in 1938, he explained: “Peo- black and white medium and modest dimensions ple do not generally know how to look at pictures. immutable mobile (Fig. 3). The photographic33 medium was hence just The film enables us to hold the spectator’s eye

a new , that in Pierre Bourdieu’s and guide it step by step through 38the descriptive words “supplied the mechanical means for realizing and visual detail of a work of art.” Also in 1948, Rubens the ‘vision of the world’ invented several centuries Paul Haesaerts and39 Henri Storck made their land- mark film , which was praised for its rad- and our mind, by means of the gaze: “The medium is not ‘in the middle’ between image ical formalist approach. With its generous use of and spectator. Rather, it is the other ways around. Images are exchanged between us and a pictorial medium in the double act of transmission and perception.An Anthropology The medium, of cinematic techniques, the film became one of the Images:the carrier Picture, or artificial Medium, support, Body remains ‘out there,’ while the image, a mental con- struct, is negotiated between us and the medium.” Hans Belting, main representatives of a new genre, instigating (Princeton: Princeton University, 2011), 36. Note that the discussion on whether the art film should be when images are transferred between pictorial media, not only the gaze is involved in this transaction, but also a range of technical devices that enables the image to re- seen as a pure registration of art or whether these40 appear. In the case of mechanical reproductions, the “double act of transmission and perception” is, at least partly, realized by the camera—as opposed to the engraver’sMan- films could claim artistic qualities themselves. ualhand—and32 of Photographic then recreated Manipulation by print, projection or transmission technology. Photography: A Middle-brow William Lake Price discussed the difficulties of reproducing oil paintings in his 34 (1858). Besides the varnish that reflected the light Pierre Bourdieu, ed., Art, trans. Shaun Whiteside (Cam- and createdA Manual blurry of Photographic surfaces, the Manipulation: early orthochromatic Treating photography of the Practice proved of the Artincapable and its bridge:35 Polity Press,Ways 1996),of Seeing 77 note 6. Variousof accurately Applications translating to the rich color shades into grey tonalities. See: William Lake 36 Latour, “Visualisation and Cognition,”Rubens 7–10. et son temps Price, immutable mobiles 37 John Berger, (London: Penguin Books, 2008), 29. 33 Nature (London: J. Churchill,immutable 1858), mobiles189–193. Jacques Jaujard and René Huyghe, Report on the, 1938, First 11’, International color, 35mm, Confer Films- Bruno Latour describes mobile asimmutable the prerequisitepresentable for thereadable expansion J.ence38 de Cavaignac.on Art Films, Paris, 26 June – 2 July 1948 combinableand circulation of knowledge. He defines these as: “objects which “Summaries of Lectures and Speeches,”Rubens in have the propertiesKnowledge of being and Society but Studies also in the Sociology, of Culture, Past and 39 Framing Pictures: Film and (Paris: the Visual Unesco, Arts 1948), 8. Present with one another” Bruno Latour, “Visualisation and Cognition: Drawing 40 Henri Storck and Paul Haesaerts, , 1948, 61’17”, black and white, 16mm, CEP. Things Together,” Steven Jacobs, (Edinburgh: University 6 (1986): 7. Press, 2011), 3–4. 65 Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021)

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Figure 3. Plate 4: The Resurrection of Lazarus after the Painting in the Berlin Museum Plate 20: The Christ and Three Apostles Engraved by Nicolas Ryckemans L’Œuvre de P.P. Rubens: Histoire et description de ses tableaux et Top: dessins Joseph Maes, , collotype. Bottom: Joseph Maes, , collotype. Spreads from the first volume of Max Rooses’ (Antwerp: Joseph Maes, Éditeur, 1886). Source: Ghent University Library. 66 Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021)

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Figure 4. Unesco Courier Rubens Van Gogh J.P. Ulrik, “Films BringLegends Art to the of Saints People,” Cosmo spread and in Damian II, no. 12 (1950), 6-7. Source: Unesco. Ulrik illustrates his text with stills and promotional footage from (1948) by Paul Haesaerts and Henri Storck, (1948) by Gaston Diehl, Robert Hessens and Alain Resnais, and a reproduction of Fra Angelico’s with technical indications by Luciano Emmer. genuine experience

Screened all over the world, art documentaries did in the reproduction of a of that not so much affect the number of people who saw image. Or as Hans Belting explained: art through reproductions, but rather increased The film medium does not consist of matter, the the number of people who saw it simultaneously. film on the reel; in order to become a medium, For Benjamin, this collective perception was key the film requires technological animation. In the to generating a distracted reception of art in an 41 viewer it creates the impression that the fleeting everyday context. However, the architecture of individually images flowing before his eyes are nothing other the movie theater is designed to cut off reality and than his own images, like the 43ones he experiences arouse lived experiences, rather than in imagination and in dreams. collective ones. In the dark of the movie theater the

communal space42 dissolves into the mental space of While using similar mechanical devices to pho- the individual. Hence, the immersive attractive- tography, films mobilize art differently, because of truthful ness of cinematic reproductions lies not so much their distinct physical appearance. Whereas photo- in their representation of the original, but mechanical reproductions travel to us as a tactile object, cinematic reproductions are conveyed via 41 Benjamin,An Anthropology “The Work of of Art Images in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” 675–676, An Anthropology of Images 678–679.42 43 Belting, , 53. Belting, , 52. 67 Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021)

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44 projection in a darkened room. Not only do cin- carefully selected reproductions are used as tropes ematic reproductions—in contrast to the original to highlight Rubens’ genius and diplomatic skills, to which they refer—appear as moving and ephem- rather than being representative of the vastness

eral, but the film medium also accumulates images and complexity of his oeuvre.47 Appointed scientific

in time, rather than space. A photograph always advisor, Frans48 Baudouin, criticized the script by depicts a crystalized moment, that irreversibly be- Hugo Claus for its lack of historical accountability St. Gregory the longs to the past. It is only through its mobilization in favor of dramatic effects, as in the highly unreal- Great surrounded by other Saints in space that the photograph45 actualizes itself and istic scene in which Rubens presents 49 reaffirms its presence. Due to their technical ani- (1606-1607) to mation, cinematic images, by contrast, seem to ap- the Duke of Mantua, accompanied by six servants pear only in the now, and as the projected images who carry the 477 by 288 cm large canvas through unravel, they leave no tactile trace for the viewer to a garden (Fig. 5). hold on to. This loss of an art historical dimension seems to Shown in cinema theaters as part of programs that be the flip side of the coin of mechanical reproduc- also included feature films and newsreels, short art tions’ democratizing power, to which MacCannell documentaries became an important tool of the alluded in the opening quote of this essay. By 1977 postwar cultural policy to educate and enlighten the it becomes clear that the only thing that has been masses. But for the true massification of reproduc- conveyed to a wider audience is the very aura that cen- tions, we had to wait for the advent of television in Benjamin hoped to deconstruct through the use of tripetal movement the 1950s and its ability to simultaneously disperse mechanical reproductions. This brings us to the images in time and space. Like film, televised im- , which is directly related to the ages succeed each other in time, i.e. real time, mak- quantity and scope of the circulating reproductions ing them even more elusive. On the other hand, and unfolds in two stages: Firstly, by comparing and these images enter the social space of everyday life. collecting reproductions, similarities become appar- oeuvre In our private living rooms, they become part of the ent converging in the master’s unique style, which spatiotemporal continuity that is generated by the characterizes his . Secondly, the conception flow of images on our television screen, and which of the oeuvre, the identification with a certain artist we have synoptically indicated as reality. Through and the positioning of artworks within this oeuvre must-see television, fine art’s most enigmatic images became of that artist, draws the50 attention back to the singu- part of a collective memory. National broadcasters lar, original. It is this second stage that, as

testified to a glorious heritage, and documented the 47 purchase, the theft, the restauration, the history and Baudouin later demanded to be removed from the credits as almostProgrammamap none of his- penrecommendations Rubens, were adopted. “Correspondance F. Baudouin, J. Van Raemdonck, the contemporary display of art. The master himself P. Vandenbussche 29 September, 5 Oktober and 11 Oktober 1977,” in 48 1974-1978, 250321, PieterBrussels: Pauwel VRT. Rubens: scenario en dialogen van Hugo also invaded the living room when in the context of For a provisional script by Hugo Claus with critical annotation by Baudouin, see: Rubens: Painter Claus the Rubens centennial the Belgian national televi- Hugo Claus and Frans Baudouin, and Diplomat 49 , 1977, n.d., Frans Baudouin, B2933, Antwerp: Letterenhuis. sion released the costume drama This painting was originally conceived as an altarpiece for the Chiesa Nuova of Santa 46 Maria in Vallicella in Rome. But when the finished work was installed, the lightning (1977). The series in five episodes was so disturbing that the Oratorians of the church ordered a new piece on schist, a less reflective material. Rubens thereupon attempted to sell the painting to Vincenzo mainly focused on Rubens’ life and the few, but Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, who couldn’t afford it. Subsequently, the artist took the Corpuswork with Rubenianum him to Antwerp Ludwig whereBurhard it Partwas VIII:placed Saints in the II church of St. Michael’s Abbey, 44 near to his mother’s grave. For a detailed history of the painting, see: Vlieghe, Hans. Slide shows—which in the 1880s introducedArt History photography and its Institutions: to the university Foundations lecture of (Brussels: Arcade Press, 1973), ahalls Discipline (see: Frederick N. Bohrer, “Photographic Perspectives: Photography and the In- 43–50.50 stitutional Formation of Art History,” in Note that the double logic of image perception is a simultaneous process, in which , ed. Elizabeth Mansfield (London: Routledge, 2005), 249–250.)—should centrifugal and centripetal acts coincide, making it hard to determine which move- be positioned somewhere between photomechanical reproductions and cinematic re- ment affected the other. In the early days of photographic and photomechanical reproductions. While appearing to the beholder in an ephemeral format and succeeding producibility, a centripetal act always preceded a centrifugal act, as the photographer each other in time—without the possibility of the beholder looking back at will—the had to travel to the original in order to remediate it. Once reproductions started to images45 remain still andRubens: therefore Schilder ask aen more Diplomaat, active attitude in the beholders’ gaze. circulate independent of their producer, this centripetal act was no longer indispens- 46 Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” 668. able. Reproductions could be purchased via stocks from photo companies, publishers, Roland Verhavert, October 1977, 260’, color, Kunst libraries and museums, and could be delivered via the postal system; cinematic re- en Kino NV for BRT. productions were often made from printed reproductions, using a rostrum camera, to 68 Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021)

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Figure 5. Rubens: Schilder en Diplomaat

Stills from Roland Verhavert, (1977, episode 2), © VRT Archieven. lived 53 we will see, affects our reception of art. MacCannell not show us the image transferred to us in showed that this stage has only been fully realized front of the original, but an idealized, evenly lit ver- through mechanical means and moreover requires sion, which was taken from a neutral perspective. social conditions that are emerging in a post-indus- Not only does the postcard fail to evoke what we leisure trial society and which indicate a shift from labor to have seen, it even defines this experience, by show-

as the defining element of social relations. ing us how to 54approach the artwork and what to re- MacCannell subsequently analyses the tourist as an member of it. The commodification of mechanical archetype of the leisure class and sightseeing as a reproductions is hence a solution to what Benjamin sights at- modern ritual. In a post-industrial society, tourists observed as: “the desire of contemporary masses to tractions Descent from the Cross travel to (Antwerp Cathedral), looking for bring things ‘closer’ spatially and humanly, which experiences (Rubens’ ) in search is just as ardent as their bent toward overcoming of authentic (contemplating the mas- the uniqueness of every reality by accepting its reproductions 55 terpiece). The value of these experiences is directly production.” Disregarding the ideological appro- related to cultural such as the Rubens priation of this process, Benjamin underestimated

centennials, which are organized51 to coordinate the the impact of occasions such as the Rubens cele- mechanism of sightseeing.sight sacralization brations, organized by the authorities to structure these attempts at self-legitimation. This process of is well illustrated souvenir by Rolf Potts’ examination of postcards. Bought as

53 a , postcards also indicate what one should According to Belting, images travel from objects in the physical world to our bod- see while being on site. By sending postcards to our ies and back, merging in our minds with other images, which can be both personal and collective. Accordingly, the image I see in the original is different from what you loved ones at home, we deliver proof of our expe- see, as we both havethe image a different (biologically determined) sight and different (psy- chologically and culturally defined) in-sights. Therefore one could argue that there is riences, as “the picture on the front of the card ad- no such thing as , but rather infinite copies of an image, multiplied by every gaze. It is my observation that by detaching the image from its singularaura medium (the vertised the act of travel, and 52the postmark on the painting) and incorporating it into a multipliable medium, Benjamin aimed at liber- back certified it as authentic.” In the act of repli- ating the image’s inherent plurality, which was restricted by its . The process of de-auratization should then be understood as an attempt to shift emphasis from the cation, however, the photomechanical picture does production of images (the genuine master’s hand) to their perception (the most ele- mentary function of the picture). “Technical reproducibility, which Walter Benjamin once distinguished from museum presence, was merely the first phase in this process. Technological images have shifted the relationship between artifact and imagination in favor of imagination, creating fluid transitions for the free play of the mental images eliminate production costs for location shooting. While in 1877, it is still quite easy to of their beholders, at leastAn Anthropology in terms of theirof Images perception. And perception has changed unravel the mechanism of image perception into a transparent pattern of movements as well, bothSouvenir in general terms and in the specific sense of the way in which images are and stages, in theThe course Tourist of a hundred years, this mechanism has increasingly entan- experienced.”54 Belting, , 41. gled51 into a vastSouvenir network of image circulation. Potts, , 56-57. It is not surprising then, that the amateur photographs taken 52 MacCannell, , 1–44. by55 tourists receive compliments for their resemblance to postcard photography. Rolf Potts, (London: Bloomsbury, 2018), 56–57. Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” 669. 69 Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021)

Images in Circulation Bonne – The Copy & the Real Thing Two Photo-Exhibitions: A Case Study reproductions. If the size of the painting did not allow for a one-to-one reproduction, full-size de- Let us take a look at a final example to evaluate tails were taken and compared to a complete repro- the consequences of the double logic of image duction in reduced size.The pictures were captured perception for the modern reception of art. In the by photo company De Schutter and developed by framework of the 1877 celebrations, the Belgian Frans Claes on Agfacolor MCN 317 paper. Agfa- photographer Joseph Maes launched the idea for a Gevaert had perfected their new color technology, four-year reproduction tour throughout Europe to Agfacolor 805 Professional, on the occasion of the create an “encyclopedia” of Rubens’ paintings. The exhibition. According to Claes, the reproduced de- journey would have resulted in a photo-exhibition tails were much appreciated by the Rubens experts, of one thousand photo-autotypes mounted on Chi- as they revealed aspects that had remained unno- nese paper. As venue for this exhibition Maes had ticed, because of the58 poor lightning conditions in Rubens’ former house in mind, which, in his words, the original settings. However, the acclaimed ad- should “be acquired by the city, and [in order to] vance in transparency that the details offered, also exhibit in his own home, the reproductions of the affected the perception of the artworks’ inherent masterpieces, which his genius had dreamed of, 56 harmony. It refocused the (visual) discourse from which he gave birth to.” The proposal attests to composition to surface, from invention to facture, the lure of completeness, which marked the art and from iconography to expression. Mounted on historical approach at the end of the nineteenth large panels, the exhibition was adaptable to dif- century, and of the central role reserved for photo ferent settings and was dispersed to Belgian com- studios to succeed in this desire. Due to the inter- panies, cultural centers and smaller museums national scope of Rubens’ career and the numerous abroad. The complete set, curated by Mr. Van den collaborations with renowned apprentices, collect- Heuvel, consisted of eighty-five panels, including59 ing Rubens’ oeuvre in a single visual space seems reproductions from thirty-eight artworks. The almost impossible. Yet precisely herein lies its at- project resonates perfectly with the double logic tractiveness. Maes’ proposal for the 1877 celebra- of image perception: on the one hand, it intended tions was nonetheless rejected by the city, because 57 to bring Rubens to those places where his inven- of financial and practical objections. His idea was tions could not be directly perceived. On the other partly adopted by the Académie d’archéologie de Rubens-city L’oeuvre de P.P. Rubens hand, the exhibition60 wanted to attract people to the Belgique, which used existing reproduction photo- 1577 1877: Gravures, Photographies, Dessins, Doc- . graphs for their exhibition uments, etc – The photo-exhibitions offer new insights into the . (cf.supra). mechanism of image perception. Not only do they mobilize the double logic, they also demonstrate In 1977, a similar yet converse idea for a photo- how mechanical reproductions themselves be- exhibition was launched (Fig. 6). Whereas in 1877, come originals. According to Boris Groys, “we are Maes intended to travel in order to take Rubens’ not only able to produce a copy out of an original oeuvre to Antwerp, the city now organized a trav- by a technique of reproduction but we also are eling photo-exhibition to bring Rubens’ works from able to produce an original out of a copy by a tech- Antwerp collections abroad. The exhibition ex- nique of topological relocation of61 this copy—that isted in multiple editions, of full color and life-size is, by a technique of installation.” The photo-exhibitions are essentially conceived as installations, 56 Letter to the Presi- dent “… andà acquérir the Members par la ofville, the Centralet exhiber Committee dans sa ofdemeure the Rubens même, Celebrations les reproductions des chefs-d’œuvre, que son génie y a rêvés, y a enfantés.” Joseph Maes, 58 Réunion de comité Central, Vendredi 12 janvier 1877:, n.d., Génard: Résumé 59 Rubensjaar 1977: herinneringsalbum,”52–53.Programma van het Rubensjaar 1977 deRubens57 conclusions en Rubensfeesten de différents 1877, rapport PK#3111, Antwerp: Felixarchief. 60 Rubensjaar 1977: herinneringsalbum,”52–53. Leopold De Wael, Zesde Directie Stad Antwerpen, , 1977, Ruben-

, 1877, Génard: Rubens en Rubensfeesten 1877, 61sjaar 1977: Programma, 1217#9. Antwerp: Felixarchief, 5. PK#3111, Antwerp: Felixarchief. Groys “The Topology of Contemporary Art,” 74. 70 Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021)

Images in Circulation Bonne – The Copy & the Real Thing

Figure 6. Rubensjaar 1977: Herinneringsalbum, extra tijdschrift van de stad Antwerpen Installation view of the traveling photo-exhibition in the metro station Auber, Paris. Photograph by Fotowerken Fr. Claes. Source: “Wij reizen om te lenen,” (1978), 34.

which offer a genuine view on Rubens’ praxis. copy, and this ambiguous status might62 have been Using state-of-the-art technology, Joseph Maes’ the reason for its limited success. proposal aimed to assemble a unique collection Conclusions of high-quality reproductions, and the original studio setting in which these pictures would have been shown was meant to confirm their authentic- The double logic of image perception that directed ity. Moreover, Maes intended to travel to the orig- the circulation of images in the context of the inals, imbuing his photographs with the aura of a Rubens centennials decisively altered the relation genuine, firsthand encounter. His pictures were between the copy and “The Real Thing.” The cen- not to be mistaken for the reproductions on post- trifugal movement of mechanical reproductions cards, cigar bands or stamps which were spread not only brought us to the authentic originals, but around during the festivities. Similarly, the 1977 also became the reference point from which to ap- exhibition clearly affirmed the unparalleled qual- proach these originals. A review of the 1977 travel- ity of the large full-color pictures. In contrast to ing exhibition in a French newspaper is revealing: the disseminated reproductions in the streets, the 62 images in both photo-exhibitions were meant to The relatively high price (1,100,000 F) was definitely another important factor in the lack of enthusiasm for purchasing sets, both at home and abroad. However, the be contemplated as originals. However, the 1977 sets that circulated, most notably those in France and the Soviet Union, did welcome a photo-exhibition, which was conceived as a trav- significant number of visitors and thus succeeded in theirProgramma dual purpose van of hetdispersion Ruben- sjaarand promotion 1977 of Rubens’ works in Antwerp collections. “Rubensjaar 1977: herinner- eling format, positioned itself somewhere in be- ingsalbum,” 27, 53–54; Zesde Directie Stad Antwerpen, , 1977, Rubensjaar 1977: Programma, 1217#9. Antwerp: Felixarchief, 6. tween authentic installation and emancipatory 71 Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021)

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remediated images

What is curious is that the works, reduced in their dispersed these —of both the dimensions, appears to me more readable, the oeuvre and persona—on a global scale. Through eye embracing the whole composition better than this continual reciprocity of images and people, the while in front of the originals. I remember having relation between the copy and “The Real Thing” is admired the works in the Antwerp Cathedral, but constantly renegotiated, increasingly blurring the with a sense of being overwhelmed by their dimen- line between the image that stems from a copy and

sions which felt like an 63 obstacle to grasping the the one we believe to be the original. unity of the composition.

Apparently by 1977, an intelligible reproduction, in a familiar, modern medium, is favored over the dazzling, monumental comprehensiveness of the original. So, are we still looking at a genuine Rubens? Hans Belting rightfully observes, that “we are more familiar with the medium, the means of transmission than we are with the images that are transmitted. In fact, in order to believe images, we

require that they64 come to us through familiar, ac- cepted media.” What we look for in the original and what we remember from this experience is highly marked by its mediation through mechanical reproductions, which have developed not only in relation to the originals, but also in the interplay between different media. As the photo-exhibitions show, in the course of hundred years, the formal and material characteristics of the mechanical reproductions transformed from small-sized black- and-white reproductions to full-color, full-scale accurate truthful details. This evolution is not only motivated by a search for more and representations. Photomechanical reproductions have also increasingly evolved according to a new vision generated by the moving, hypermediated frame of film and television. We can conclude that between 1877 and 1977, mechanical reproductions brought us both closer to and further away from the original perception of Rubens’ oeuvre. The centennials converged Rubens’ images—both reproductions and originals—in one city, and at the same time

63 “Ce qui est curieux, c’est que les œuvres, réduites dans leurs dimensions, me sont apparues d’une lecture plus facile, l’œil embrasse mieux l’ensemble de la composition qu’en face des originaux. Je me souviens avoir admiré les œuvres de la cathé- drale d’Anvers, mais avec le sentiment d’être écrasé par leur dimensions qui étaient un obstacle pour saisir l’unité de la composition.” Frans Baudouin, “ToespraakU en Ebes-Oost van de heer F. Baudouin, conservator van de kunsthistorische musea van de Stad Antwerpen, secretaris van het coördinatiecomité voor het Rubensjaar 1977,” 15 (1977): 28.An The Anthropology name of the of author Images and the newspaper were not further specified in Baudouin’s64 speech. Belting, , 20. 72 Artl@s Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Spring 2021)

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