Baroque Influencers

How did Jesuits use the contemporary visual language of baroque to draw the public into their vision of humanity, religion, and society? In this book, several authors attempt to answer this complex question.

The setting is Antwerp in the 17th century. At that time, the city served as the headquarters of the Jesuit order in the Netherlands and as a bastion against Calvinism in the Dutch Republic. The arts were flourishing in an unprecedented manner there. Painters such as Rubens and Van Dyck produced works commissioned by the Jesuits and participated in the life of the Catholic community organised by the order, together with large groups of other believers.

For example, the book considers in some detail the baroque Church of St Ignatius — today St Charles Borromeo Church — on Hendrik Conscienceplein, for which Rubens created virtuoso ceiling paintings. The authors also show how more humble genres such as religious folk prints, illustrated saints' lives, and school, emblem, and prayer books were also used to win over as many believers as possible, both at home and in distant overseas territories.

Baroque Influencers is a richly illustrated book that accompanies the exhibition of the same name in the St Charles Borromeo Church, the Museum Snijders&Rockoxhuis, and the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library in Antwerp from April to July 2023. The exhibition is part of the Baroque Influencers city festival.