Transubstantiation through Time Peter Paul Rubens's "Triumph of the Eucharist" Tapestry Series and "The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek"

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Carrasco, Malena

Keywords

Peter Paul Rubens, Baroque, The Triumph of the Eucharist, Melchizedek, Tapestry

Area of Concentration

Art History

Abstract

The Old Testament figure of Melchizedek, the priest-king of Salem, was a popular image in religious art from the Early Medieval period to the Rococo. Melchizedek�s unique position as both priest and king caused Paul to compare Melchizedek to Christ in his Epistle to the Hebrews, while Melchizedek�s offering of bread and wine to the patriarch Abraham in the Book of Genesis was identified by the Early Church Fathers as a prefiguration of the Eucharist. This association with Christ and the Eucharist causes Melchizedek to take an important role in religious art beginning in the Early Medieval period, and his image can be found in the monumental church programs of Santa Maria Maggiore, San Vitale, and Chartres to Dieric Bouts� Altarpiece of the Holy Sacrament (1464-1467). The significance of these images relies on the use of typology, which by the Renaissance begins to diminish along with Melchizedek�s significance as a prefiguration. However, Peter Paul Rubens�s depiction of The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek for his Triumph of the Eucharist tapestry series (c.1625) not only revitalizes the waning use of typology but also signifies the grand culmination of the visual tradition of Melchizedek. Combining elements of classical antiquity with the sublime style of the Baroque, Rubens creates an image both secular and religious in nature which is unsurpassed by later examples.

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