Rembrandt’s Gifts: A Case Study of Actor-Network-Theory

Abstract

This study explores the applicability of Actor-Network-Theory, a recent paradigm of social theory, to the investigation of Rembrandt’s relations with patrons and collectors. Known by the acronym ANT, the method privileges objects as critical agents in creating, sustaining, and extending social ties and thus offers a model for capturing the dynamics underlying the interdependencies between Rembrandt, his art, his patrons, and collectors. I focus on Rembrandt’s works presented and circulated as gifts, which epitomize the short-lived assemblies between humans and objects that ANT considers the cornerstone of social activity. Drawing on ANT’s approach, I highlight the agency of these works in materializing and enhancing the reciprocal ties that bound networks of collectors and liefhebbers together with Rembrandt