A favourite among 17th-century European monarchs, the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) had both access to royal courts and a perfect cover for diplomacy and espionage. In this biographical study Mark Lamster explores Rubens’ art, his personal aim to bring to an end the Eighty Years’ War, and his clandestine missions throughout Europe, from Antwerp (then on the frontline of the Dutch-Spanish conflict) to the Spanish court. Slightly off-mint.American-cut pages..