Month: May 2024

 Govert Flinck (1615-1660), Rembrandt as a Shepherd with a Staff and Flute, c. 1636, Oil on canvas, 75.1× 64.4cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, on loan to  Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp

This unusual tronnie by Govaert Flinck (1615–1660) depicts his teacher Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) in the guise of a shepherd, complete with laurel wreath, flute, and crook. The composition exemplifies the pastoral mode popularised by the Utrecht school in the early seventeenth century, where Italianate light and arcadian costume often framed idealised scenes of rural life. While Utrecht painters such as Hendrick ter Brugghen and Gerard van Honthorst favoured a sensuous, sometimes overtly eroticised treatment of the pastoral themes, Flinck, a German-born Mennonite from Cleves, adopted a more restrained approach. His measured handling of the theme reflects both his personal reserve and the persistent caution that marked his career, even after his conversion to Catholicism following the death of his Catholic wife.

The work originally formed part of a pendant set, paired with a shepherdess, suggesting an allegorical or courtly context. Both paintings were separated during the Napoleonic occupation; the shepherdess now in the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig, while her companion resides in Amsterdam. Although tronies were not intended as formal portraits, the physiognomy here bears a convincing resemblance to Rembrandt, making it plausible that Flinck drew directly from life. The shepherdess, by contrast, lacks any evident link to Rembrandt’s wife Saskia van Uylenburgh. Stylistically, the painting reveals Flinck’s debt to Rembrandt in the handling of chiaroscuro, the warm, enveloping light, and the minute description of facial features, yet the pastoral conceit aligns the work with the broader taste for allegorical role-playing in elite Northern European collections of the period.

The Master of the Saints (currently unidentified South Netherlandish  follower of Hieronymus Bosch, active in the first quarter of the 16th century), Triptych with  St Christopher, St Anthony and St Jerome,’ ca 1510-1520,  Oil on oak, 50.1 x 15.7 cm, Mayer van den Bergh Museum, Antwerp

Michaelina Wautier (1604- 1689), Two Girls as Saint Agnes and Saint Dorothy, c. 1650, Oil on canvas, 89,7 × 122 cm. KMSKA, Antwerp

Jacques Jordaens (1593–1678), Atalanta’s uncles try to rob her of the boar’s head she received from Melager (Ovid, Metamorphoses 7:260-444), c. 1617-1618, Oil on canvas, 152.0 x 120.0 cm, The Snijders & Rockox House, Antwerp, On loan from Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp 

His early work reflects Jordaens’ engagement with Caravaggio’s influence, particularly evident in the strong contrasts of light and shadow, which heighten the emotional intensity of the scene. In this version, the figures are depicted with a naturalism that anchors them in everyday life. Unlike Rubens’ more idealised figures, Jordaens’ women resemble local peasant women, emphasising their earthiness and human frailty rather than portraying them as divine or muse-like figures.

The story of the Calydonian Boar Hunt, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, tells how the goddess Artemis sends a monstrous boar to ravage Calydon as punishment for the king’s failure to honour her in his rituals. Meleager, the king’s son, leads a group of hunters, including the courageous Atalanta, to kill the boar. Atalanta is the first to wound it, and Meleager delivers the final blow. As a reward, Meleager gives Atalanta the boar’s head, but his uncles, angered that a woman has received the prize, attempt to take it from her. Furious, Meleager kills his uncles, triggering a tragic series of events that leads to his death, fulfilling an ancient prophecy.

The allegory explores themes of honour, gender roles, and the destructive nature of envy. This myth resonated with Baroque artists for its focus on emotional tension and moral conflict. The dramatic emotions of rage, jealousy, and vengeance suited the Baroque era’s fascination with dynamic movement and intense, expressive storytelling, making it a popular subject in the period’s art.

While later versions of this theme by Jordaens adopt a more Rubensian style—smoother, more dynamic, and opulent—this early version reflects a period when Caravaggism still held sway. However, it was beginning to fall out of fashion in Antwerp.

Gérard de Lairesse ( 1641-1711), Venus hands over the armour made by Vulcan to Aeneas (Virgil’s Aeneid VIII, 608 ff.), 1668, Oil on canvas, 161.8 x 165.8 cm, Museum Mayer van den Bergh, Antwerp

In Virgil’s epic, Aeneas, a Trojan hero destined to found the Roman civilisation, faces perilous battles and challenges as he leads his people towards Italy. To aid him, Venus commissions Vulcan, her husband and the god of fire and metalworking, to forge powerful armour, ensuring her son’s survival and success. This scene closely illustrates the dramas of Virgil’s Aeneid, Book VIII, from line 608 onwards.

At the centre, Venus, idealised as a youthful beauty draped in flowing classical robes, extends her arm in a graceful gesture as she delivers the newly forged armour to the hero. Aeneas, presented as a robust and idealised military leader, receives the armour in a formal exchange rather than a battlefield scene, signalling Lairesse’s preference for staged, elevated narratives over turbulent action. Around them, winged putti present individual pieces — helmet, breastplate, and shield — each an emblem of heavenly favour and heroic destiny. In the left background, Vulcan appears partially nude beside his forge, his tools and muscular form signalling his role as divine craftsman without distracting from the ceremonial exchange between mother and son.

Gérard de Lairesse was among the most prominent painters active in the Northern Netherlands during the second half of the seventeenth century, his career marking both the late flowering and the gradual transformation of Baroque art in the Dutch Republic. Born in Liège and trained in the Southern Netherlandish tradition, he moved to Amsterdam in 1667, where his refined classicising style appealed to patrician patrons seeking a more restrained alternative to the dynamic, often turbulent energy of earlier Baroque masters. This painting belongs to his early Amsterdam period, when his work still retained the monumental theatricality of his Southern Netherlandish roots, yet was already adopting the compositional order and idealised beauty that would later dominate his mature style. Lairesse’s work here balances the emotive power of the high Baroque with an emerging neoclassical order, signalling both the persistence and the transformation of the style in its later phase.

The subject also belongs to a broader current in Lairesse’s oeuvre: large-scale mythological cycles commissioned for the decoration of elite townhouses. These works often drew on episodes from classical epic, reimagined as moral exempla for a cultivated audience. In this context, Venus hands over the armour made by Vulcan to Aeneas would have complemented other scenes of heroic virtue, divine protection, and the trials of noble characters, arranged to create a coherent moral and visual programme within a patron’s interior. Such commissions allowed Lairesse to apply the compositional discipline and narrative clarity for which he was renowned, qualities that contributed to his later theoretical writings on painting, which became influential in eighteenth-century academic circles.

Attributed to Adriaen Thomasz. Key (c.1544-after 1589), Portrait of Johan de Mauregnault (1540-1587), Second half of 16th century, Oil on panel, 104.5 x 73.8 cm, Mayer van den Bergh Museum, Antwerp

The Portrait of Johan de Mauregnault (1540–1587) reflects the mature style of Adriaen Thomasz. Key (c.1544–after 1589), whether by the artist or his workshop. Key was a leading portraitist in the Southern Netherlands, serving Antwerp’s magistracy and other elite patrons in Mechelen and Brussels. Combining the meticulous surface realism of the Early Netherlandish tradition with the formal elegance favoured by Habsburg court circles, he helped fix the sober three-quarter-length format that dominated official portraiture into the seventeenth century.

Here, the Antwerp magistrate appears in ceremonial military attire, the polished metal, rich fabrics, and fine lace rendered with characteristic precision. The measured pose, composed hands, and steady gaze project dignity and authority, while the plain background focuses attention on the sitter. Such works defined the civic portrait idiom of the late Renaissance in the Southern Netherlands and shaped its evolution in the early seventeenth century.

Juan de Flandes  (c.1450–c.1519), The Banquet of Herod, 1496, Oil on wood, 75 x 50,4 cm, Museum Mayer van den Bergh, Antwerp

Juan de Flandes was one of the key foreign artists employed by the Spanish monarchy in the late fifteenth century, significantly contributing to the development of the Hispano-Flemish style. Although he is often claimed to have been a pupil of Hugo van der Goes, this assertion is questioned due to Flandes’ distinct background as a manuscript illuminator, which is evident in his meticulous detailing and spatial depth. The Flemish schools of the late fifteenth century focused on precision and realism, whereas Castilian schools favoured bold colours and devotional intensity. Juan de Flandes skilfully blended these elements to meet the tastes of his Spanish patrons. His work also shows stylistic similarities to the Flemish-Estonian artist Michiel Sittow, with whom he collaborated on royal commissions in Spain, often making it difficult to distinguish between their contributions [1].

A crucial example of Flandes’ hybrid style is found in fragments of the Miraflores Altarpiece, a significant commission originally consisting of multiple panels. The Miraflores Altarpiece, created between 1496 and 1499, was commissioned by Queen Isabella of Castile for the Carthusian monastery of Miraflores near Burgos as part of a broader effort to memorialise her father, King Juan II. This altarpiece, dedicated to the life of John the Baptist, was dismantled in the seventeenth century, with its components dispersed across Europe in the nineteenth century.

Surviving fragments of the Miraflores Altarpiece have been identified in prestigious collections around the world, including The Banquet of Herod (Mayer van den Bergh Museum), The Birth of John the Baptist (Cleveland Museum of Art), The Beheading of John the Baptist (Musée d’Art et Histoire, Geneva), and The Baptism of Christ (private collection, Madrid). The recovery of the final panel, The Preaching of John the Baptist, from the National Museum in Belgrade in 2003 marked a major milestone in the reconstruction of this long-lost masterpiece.

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Norwich Cathedral possesses one of the largest surviving ensembles of Gothic roof bosses in Europe, an exceptional corpus of medieval sculpture both in scale and in preservation. Dating largely from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the bosses number over one thousand and display a striking breadth of subject matter. Biblical narratives, Christological cycles, saints’ lives and allegorical themes are set alongside images drawn from bestiaries, folklore and scenes of everyday life, creating a visual register that combines sacred instruction with secular wit. Their survival is particularly remarkable in light of the waves of destruction that swept through English churches: the Reformation of the sixteenth century and the mid-seventeenth-century Puritan iconoclasm claimed countless examples of medieval imagery, yet the bosses of Norwich endured with comparatively little loss. Collectively they form not merely an ornamental ceiling scheme but a unique visual archive of late medieval thought, devotional practice and imaginative culture, offering scholars an invaluable witness to the interplay of sacred and secular traditions in the later Middle Ages.

Our Lady-across-the-Dyle, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwestraat 87, Mechelen.

Our Lady Across the River Dyle, the second-largest church in Mechelen, is a distinguished example of Brabantine Gothic architecture from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Though damaged in both world wars and earlier conflicts, it retains a rich ensemble of artworks. Among these are several notable Madonna statues, including the fourteenth-century Our Lady of the Scheve Lee and the Baroque Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows by Antoon Faydherbe (c. 1614–1671).

The Baroque interior is marked by a pulpit by Willem Ignatius Kerrickx (1682–1745), completed in 1718, and the high altar by Antoon Pastorana (1640–1702), which incorporates The Last Supper by Jan Erasmus Quellinus (1634–1715). In the Skippers’ Chapel, a recently uncovered sixteenth-century mural depicts the parable of the prodigal son. Other significant pieces include the Altar of Our Lady of the Sun by Pieter Valckx (1734–1785), created in 1775, and the Holy Cross Altar by Pastorana, with a statue by Jan-Frans Boeckstuyns (1650–1734).

The church’s most celebrated work is Peter Paul Rubens’s Miraculous Draught of Fish, painted in 1620 for the Fishmongers’ Guild of Mechelen. The central panel depicts Christ and the apostles at the miraculous catch, flanked by scenes of Tobias’s catch and the finding of a coin in a fish’s mouth. Looted during the French occupation, the upper section was returned from Paris in 1816, while parts of the predella remain in the Musée Lorrain, Nancy. The central predella panel was rediscovered recently in storage at the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.

De Haverwerf, a historic quay along the River Dijle in Mechelen, has been associated with the oat trade since at least 1301, when the city’s mercantile privileges made it a key distribution point for grain along inland waterways. By the seventeenth century, as river commerce brought prosperity, the quay became lined with ornate Baroque houses that reflected the wealth of their owners and the city’s artistic ambitions.

Among the best preserved are Het Paradijske (‘Little Paradise’), a corner house distinguished by reliefs depicting the ‘Earthly Paradise’ and ‘The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil’; De Duiveltjes (“The Little Devils”), noted for its carved wooden façade and a relief of ‘The Prodigal Son’, named for the devil-shaped pillars that flank it; and Sint-Jozef, whose relief shows St Joseph holding the Christ Child. This part of the quay also adjoins Steenstraat — later renamed Van Beethovenstraat — where the composer Ludwig van Beethoven’s great-grandfather, the musician Michiel van Beethoven, once lived, linking the street’s mercantile and architectural history to an enduring musical legacy.

St Janskerk, Sint-Janskerkhof 1, Mechelen

St John’s Church (St Janskerk ) in Mechelen combines Brabantine Gothic origins with later Baroque enrichment, an opulence uncommon in parish churches of the Southern Netherlands. Built in one of the city’s wealthiest districts, its prominence owed much to the nearby Great Council of Mechelen, the highest court in the Low Countries from the fifteenth century until the French Revolution. The councillors, appointed by the sovereign and drawn from the highest ranks of the legal profession, brought sustained wealth and prestige to the parish.

The Baroque collection of the church stands as a clear expression of this wealth and status. It begun in the mid-15th century in the Brabantine Gothic style, retains its cruciform plan, three-aisled nave, and tall western tower in yellow Lediaan sandstone. The Gothic structure, completed by 1483, was gradually enriched during the Counter-Reformation, when the city’s wealthiest parish invested heavily in Baroque decoration. Its most celebrated feature is the grand triptych by Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), prominently placed above the high altar. Painted in 1617, the central panel depicts The Adoration of the Magi, with the Virgin’s features possibly inspired by Rubens’s first wife, Isabella Brant (1591–1626). Around 1768–1769 the triptych was set into a new portico altar designed by Theodoor Verhaegen (1701–1759) and executed by Pieter Valckx (1734–1798). Ingeniously, the side panels are mounted on a mechanism that allows them to swivel, revealing the paintings on their reverse and enabling the entire sequence to be viewed.

Of particular distinction is the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, built in 1548. This side chapel, matching the original chancel in size, surpasses the central nave in refinement and demonstrates the lavish patronage it enjoyed. It houses the tomb of Lambert de Briaerde, chairman of the High Council, and his wife, an enduring memorial to the parish’s close association with Mechelen’s ruling elite.

The church retains an important Baroque collection, including works by Gaspar de Crayer (1584–1669), Abraham Janssens (c. 1575–1632), and Ambrosius Francken (c. 1544–1618), together with paintings from the studios of Rubens, Jacob Jordaens (1593–1678), and other Antwerp and Mechelen masters.

Sint-Katelijnekerk, Sint-Katelijnestraat 78, Mechelen

Sint-Katelijnekerk is a distinctive small Gothic church featuring an enormous late Baroque pulpit, providing an intriguing contrast between Brabantian Gothic and late Baroque styles. The church’s basic layout includes a three-aisle cross nave with a square crossing tower, reflecting its medieval origins. Significant remodelling occurred between 1400 and 1450, followed by the addition of the Fontes Chapel in the 16th century and St. Joseph’s Chapel in 1673. Despite being located in a poorer part of the city, the church accumulated many artworks over the centuries, especially in its chapels.

One of the church’s most captivating features is the grand pulpit crafted by Pieter Valckx (1734-1783) in 1774. Depicting ‘The Holy Family hiding in the ruins of the temple,’ this piece, designed by his teacher Theodoor Verhaegen (1700-1759), remains a focal point of the interior. Though many Baroque elements were removed during an extensive 19th-century restoration, the pulpit is a testament to the church’s layered history.

This restoration sought to return the church to its original Brabantian Gothic purity, stripping away many of the Baroque additions. Yet, the massive pulpit remains, bridging the gap between two architectural eras and defining the church’s unique interior.

The current building of the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp began construction in 1352 and was completed only in 1521, taking nearly 170 years to finish. This extended construction period led to a fusion of architectural styles.

Master builders Jan Appelmans (1352–1430), Pieter Appelmans (1373–1445), and Rombout II Keldermans (1460–1531) were instrumental in shaping the cathedral’s distinctive design. The octagonal part of the tower, designed by Herman de Waghemakere, was built in 1507. The tower was finally complete in 1518 when his son Damien de Waghemakere realised its magnificent spire. 

Constructed from natural stone, the Cathedral features a high northern tower with spire-like stone lacework tracery, a lower southern tower, an octagonal lantern with an onion-shaped top, seven aisles, and multiple chapels. The exceptionally wide sash arches between the nave and side aisles further enhance the sense of openness within the interior. Notably, the traditional triforium is omitted and replaced by a decorative strip of meshwork above the arches, emphasising verticality and lightness.

The cathedral’s interior serves as a dynamic gallery of the city’s artistic heritage. Significant works include masterpieces by Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640): ‘The Raising of the Cross’ (1609–1610), ‘Descent from the Cross’ (1611–1614), ‘Triptych with the Resurrection of Christ’ (1611–1612), and ‘Assumption of the Virgin’ (1625–1626). Other important artworks include ‘The Assumption of the Virgin’ by Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641), as well as contributions from  Jacob de Backer (c. 1555–1585), Otto van Veen (1556–1629), Maerten de Vos (1532–1603), Hendrick van Balen I (1575–1632), Cornelis Schut I (1597–1655), and Artus Quellinus II (1625–1700).

Begijnhofkerk, Nonnenstraat 28, Mechelen

The current building, dedicated to Alexius of Edessa and Catherine of Alexandria, is a beguine church constructed between 1629 and 1647. It is a fascinating example of Counter-Reformation Italo-Flemish Jesuit architecture, representing a fusion of local architectural traditions with the more dynamic and colourful Italian Baroque style. The design and construction were overseen by two prominent architects, Pieter Huyssens (1577–1637) and Jacques Francart (1582/83–1651), who were friends of Rubens and collaborated on numerous projects. Influenced by their travels and exposure to contemporary Italian architecture, both architects incorporated local traditions to engineer tall structures based on Brabantian Gothic principles, ensuring stability on the soft soil for centuries. This Italo-Flemish fusion is particularly evident in the arched arcades supported by Corinthian pillars and an imposing cornice, where the cross-rib vaults and ceiling reference the local Brabantian Gothic tradition.

The church also celebrates local artistic traditions with masterpieces from the 16th and 17th centuries, including works by the Workshop of Quentin Matsys (1466–1530), Gaspar de Crayer (1584–1669), Jan Cossiers (1600–1671), Theodor Boeijermans (1620–1678), and Lucas Franchoys II (1616–1681), who was from Mechelen. Franchoys the Younger significantly contributed to filling the local churches with beautiful Baroque compositions, including ‘The Ascension of Mary’ for the altar in this church.

Initially housed in the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame in Melun, the diptych is now divided: the right panel resides in Antwerp, while the left fragment, depicting Étienne Chevalier and St. Stephen, is preserved in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. A medallion from the original frame is kept in the Louvre.

This work presents the Virgin Mary as a Virgo lactan or a breastfeeding Madonna. This portrayal is believed to be an idealised image of Agnès Sorel (1422-1450), the mistress of King Charles VII. Sorel’s role at court was unprecedented, as she was the first officially recognised royal mistress, a position that significantly altered the political and social dynamics of the time. Her influence over the king exacerbated tensions between Charles VII and his son, the Dauphin Louis (later Louis XI), ultimately leading to Louis’s estrangement and exile.

The depiction of Sorel in the painting, with an exposed breast, carries layered symbolism. While it represents maternal care, it also subtly underscores her seductive power and the influence she wielded. This duality highlights the tension between spiritual purity and earthly desires, reflecting the broader power dynamics at the French court.

Étienne Chevalier, the king’s finance minister and the executor of Sorel’s will, is featured in the left panel, further connecting the figures within the diptych to the intrigues of the royal court. The painting also contains unresolved elements that continue to spark scholarly debate. For instance, the Virgin’s red, white, and blue attire echoes King Charles VII’s heraldic colours. Additionally, there is speculation that the Virgin may represent Chevalier’s wife, Catherine Bude, over whose grave the diptych was initially placed in Notre Dame of Melun. This potential dual interpretation adds complexity, suggesting that the Virgin embodies sacred ideals and personal memory, making the diptych a multifaceted reflection of power, beauty, and legacy rather than a mere religious icon.

 Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Portrait of Christophe Plantin (1520-1589), c.1616,  Oil on oak panel, 95,5 x 80 cm, Museum Plantin-Moretus, Antwerp

This distinguished portrait is part of the first series of twelve commissioned by Balthasar I Moretus from his childhood friend Peter Paul Rubens. Although Plantin had already passed away in 1589, Rubens painted this likeness in 1616 based on an earlier portrait. The humanist and art-loving Balthasar transformed the humble home of his father into an architectural jewel and desired an extensive gallery of portraits. During the first series, between 1613 and 1616, he ordered this portrait of his grandfather, the founder of the house, Christophe Plantin; his father, Jan I Moretus; his teacher, Justus Lipsius; and others.  It is believed Rubens charged him much less than he would typically charge his clients.

In this depiction, Plantin holds a book, an emblematic choice given his prominence in the world of printing. The compasses he holds were integral to his business logo, accompanied by the Latin motto ‘Labore et Constantia’ (‘Through work and constancy’). His printing establishment, known as ‘The Golden Compasses,’ was pivotal in disseminating knowledge during the Baroque era.

The print shop was one of the most influential in European history, playing a crucial role in spreading ideas across the continent. It facilitated the distribution of printed books and was instrumental in the circulation of radical and often banned ideas. From alternative theology and science to anatomy and illustrated editions of religious and mythological texts, Plantin’s and Moretus’s workshop production provided a vital reference for countless artists.

Rubens’ portrait goes beyond commemorating a successful businessman; it underscores the profound impact of the Plantin-Moretus family, which revolutionised the art and ideas of the 17th century. Through this collaboration, Rubens highlights the significance of their contributions to the art world, illustrating how pivotal figures can shape cultural and artistic history.