Vincenzo Gonzaga, Peter Paul Rubens and the mission in Spain. New documents and echoes

Some unpublished documents relating to the diplomatic mission in Spain of Pietro Paolo Rubens, on behalf of Vincenzo I Gonzaga, have been found during an archival research campaign concerning the Minute fund and that relating to the Correspondence of the Duchy countries at the State Archive of Mantua. This documentation better details the diplomatic reasons of the mission, namely the obtaining by Vincenzo Gonzaga of a role at the Spanish court; furthermore, from the new letters found important details emerge relating to the relationship between the painter and the Duke of Mantua, initially very disappointed by the huge expenses sustained by Rubens to the detriment of the coffers of the Gonzaga State. Another important letter, written by Ambassador Annibale Iberti in 1605, after the conclusion of the mission in Spain, was found during the same archival reconnaissance: this document was probably sent from Nice to an unknown Genoese recipient (to whom the Mantuan delegate asks to greet the Flemish painter) and may constitute proof of a trip by Rubens to the Ligurian capital before the second Roman stay.