The present thesis explores the idea of the painter-advisor at the seventeenth-century Spanish court by means of the case study of the sale of Rubens's art collection in 1640. Philip IV bought...Show moreThe present thesis explores the idea of the painter-advisor at the seventeenth-century Spanish court by means of the case study of the sale of Rubens's art collection in 1640. Philip IV bought around thirty paintings from the master's estate. In this operation, a group of painters developed important tasks of advising either on behalf of the Spanish king or Rubens. Here these tasks will be further analyzed in order to add evidence to the phenomenon of painter-advisors in Europe throughout the 17th century, as well as to their multifaceted careers that, more often that it is thought, not only included the production of paintings, but also other services based on their connoisseurship.Show less