Jacob Jordaens (1593--1678). Genre in history, history in genre

For modern scholars, Jordaens' genre paintings---his Flemish proverbs, traditional folk celebrations and the occasional fable of Aesop---have always been considered the pinnacle of his achievement. For 17th-century contemporaries, however, Jordaens was a history painter of the first rank, known for his large-scale figures and princely patrons. Forced to establish his reputation in a highly competitive market dominated by Rubens, Jordaens sought to distinguish himself according to the principles of ut pictura poesis---in which the painter's task was considered on par with the epic poet's. Within this framework, he profiled himself as a history painter whose imitation of nature took precedence over his imitation of the antique. Jordaens' genre paintings are essentially a magnification of this strategy, exploiting the rhetorical notion that scenes from everyday life are by definition closer to nature. They also provided the artist with a platform for social critique: the mirror of everyday life could also serve as an instrument of correction. Crucial in both respects is the notion of genre as genus---as type or kind. While 'genre' may have been a notion formulated in the 18th century to encompass everything outside the bounds of history painting, genus offers a link to the rich fund of sources---rhetoric, poetics, architectural theory---that informed the artistic theory and practice of the 16th and 17th centuries. Moreover, in reviewing the course of his long and highly successful career, it is evident that Jordaens' manipulation of generic categories was more than just a matter of aesthetics. Rather, it formed an integral part of a well-considered commercial strategy launched in several media at once. It is here---at the intersection of artistic theory and commercial practice---that Jordaens' originality emerges with utmost clarity.