Heni Talks
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The Ceiling That Cost a King | Rubens at the Banqueting House
Posted
February 8, 2026
Views
7,071
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212
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9
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3.13%
February 8, 2026
7,071
212
9
3.13%
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15:14Now PlayingPeter Paul Rubens' masterpiece at the Banqueting House was the last thing Charles I saw before he stepped onto the scaffold.
Inside a "great white spaceship" in the heart of London, nine massive canvases by the celebrated Baroque master Peter Paul Rubens dominate the ceiling.
Join Andrew Graham-Dixon as he decodes these breathtaking paintings—a radical assertion of the "Divine Right of Kings" that stood in stark contrast to the King's tragic end.
In this film, we explore iconography the modern viewer might miss: from the "muscle behind the throne" in Hercules clubbing Envy, to the technical blunder that almost saw the canvases fail to fit. This is the story of the brilliance, the ego, and the ultimate tragedy of the Banqueting House.
What we’ll explore:
🦶 The "Flemish Feet" Mystery: Why Rubens’s measurements were wrong.
👑 The King as God: Decoding the Solomonic columns and the Apotheosis of James I.
🕊️ The Propaganda of Peace: How the Stuart monarchy used art to hide a nation in chaos.
👁️ The Final Sight: Why these paintings were the last thing Charles I saw before his execution.
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🏷️ Tags#HENITalks #ArtHistory #PeterPaulRubens #CharlesI #Baroque #BanquetingHouse #EnglishCivilWar #DivineRight #BritishHistory #Monarchy #Masterpiece #Whitehall #StuartEngland
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