History of Art: Baroque and Rococo - Paul de Vos, Jan Fyt, Abraham Brueghel

Baroque and Rococo

Paul de Vos

Jan Fyt

Abraham Brueghel

see collections:

Adriaen Brouwer

Frans Snyders

Jan Brueghel the Elder

Flemish Painting in the 17th Century

The name of Peter Paul Rubens dominates Flemish painting of the 17th century. Having trained in Antwerp, and learned much from studying other artists' works during his time in Italy (1600-08), Rubens proved himself a master of all genres of painting, including religious, mythological, and allegorical works, portraits, and landscapes. He drew designs for sculptures and tapestries, including The History of Decius Mus, (I616-I8), for the Genoese nobleman Nicolo Pallavicini, and was also interested in architecture, as well as stimulating and coordinating the activities of a wide circle of fellow artists. Many worked alongside him in his studio, collaborating with him on ambitious works commissioned by local and foreign patrons, such as those for the ceiling of the Jesuit church of St Ignatius in Antwerp (1620-25). Rubens was a rich, cultured artist, with patrician and royal patrons all over Europe. He painted the allegorical cycle of the life of Marie de Medicis for the gallery in the Palais du Luxembourg (1621-35, now in the Musee du Louvre); the painted ceiling in the banqueting hall in the Palace of Whitehall London (1629-34); and a series of paintings inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses for the Torre della Parada, a royal hunting lodge near Madrid (1636-38).
As a young man Anthony van Dyck worked with Rubens. After his first visit to London in 1620 to the court of King James I, van Dyck went to Italy (1621-27). staying in Genoa for a considerable time and visiting Venice, Rome, and Palermo. He returned to England in 1632, after which he concentrated mainly on portrait painting, remaining there as court painter to King Charles I for the rest of his life, with the exception of a visit to his homeland in 1634. The work that he produced influenced other artists well into the 18th century. In contrast to van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678) achieved fame throughout Europe without leaving his native Antwerp. Many Flemish artists specialized in the production of cabinet pictures for private collectors, and during the early part of the century in Antwerp this specialization was the virtual monopoly of the Francken family. Their paintings are characterized by a minute attention to detail and a skilful handling of paint, enlivened by elegant Mannerist touches. Genre scenes were given new vigour in the work of Adriaen Brouwer (c. 1605-38), who was a pupil of Frans Hals in Haarlem, while Frans Snyders (1579—1657) was an outstanding painter who specialized in the portrayal of animals and in landscapes. Both he and his brother-in-law Paul de Vos (c. 1596-1678) worked with Rubens. Another prolific artist based in Antwerp was Jan Fyt (1611-61), who brought new refinements to the handling of paint. Abraham Brueghel (1631-97), the last of the famous dynasty of Flemish painters, moved to Italy in 1659 where he settled first in Rome and then in Naples. During his time in Italy, he produced flower paintings with a notable ease of execution and of an attractive composition and use of colour.

Peter Paul Rubens, design for printers' mark for the Plantin Press, 1627-28.
Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp

THE COURT AT BRUSSELS

From 1S98 to 1633, Archduke Albert and his wife Isabella, the daughter of Philip II of Spain, ruled the Spanish Netherlands from Brussels. The city slowly recovered after the disasters of the sacking of Antwerp and the Protestant iconoclasm, and Flemish life and culture flourished — social improvements began in the city, the University of Louvain was developed, and painters at court included Otto van Veen (one of Rubens' teachers), Rubens himself, Jan Brueghel the Elder (1569-1625) and Anthony van Dyck. While at court, Rubens painted portraits of both the Archduke and Archduchess, with background landscapes by Brueghel; from 1625 to 1628 he also designed the Eucharist series of Brussels tapestries (some of the sketches for which are in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), the printer's device for Christopher Plantin, and a frontispiece for Justus Lipsius' Opera Omnia.

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Paul de Vos
(b Hulst, 1591–2 or 9 Dec 1595; d Antwerp, 30 June 1678).

Painter and draughtsman, brother of Cornelis de Vos. Paul is perhaps best described as a gifted follower of his brother-in-law Snyders rather than as a truly original artist. Like Snyders, he specialized in still-lifes, animal and hunting scenes, generally on a large scale, and his works were in demand in the same aristocratic circles.

Paul de Vos
Still-Life
Oil on canvas
Huntarian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, Glasgow

Paul de Vos
Caceria de Corzos

Paul de Vos
Caceria de Osos

Paul de Vos
Ciervo acosado por la jauria

Paul de Vos
Pelea de gatos en una despensa

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Jan Fyt
(b Antwerp, bapt 15 June 1611; d Antwerp, 11 Sept 1661).

Flemish painter, draughtsman and etcher. He was apprenticed in Antwerp in 1621–2 to Hans van den Berch [Berghe] (not to be confused with Jan van den Bergh of Alkmaar) and probably completed his training with Frans Snyders. In 1629–30 Fyt became a master in the Antwerp Guild of St Luke, but he continued to work for Snyders until 1631. In 1633 and 1634 he was in Paris. According to his biographers, he then went to Italy; an Italian journey is confirmed by the fact that in 1650 he joined the Antwerp Guild of Romanists (exclusive to those who had visited Rome), of which he became the dean in 1652. He apparently worked in Rome, where he joined the Schildersbent and was given the nickname ‘Goudvink’ (Dut.: ‘goldfinch’). In Venice, according to Orlandi, Fyt worked for the Sagredo and Contarini families. He is also thought to have visited Naples, Florence and Genoa, and Orlandi stated that he also went to Spain and London. By 5 September 1641 Fyt was back in Antwerp, where, apart from a brief trip to the northern Netherlands in 1642, he apparently remained for the rest of his career. However, Jan-Erasmus Quellinus stated that he again travelled to Italy in the 1650s, a claim supported to some extent by the mention in 1671 of a Self-portrait (untraced) supposedly painted some 20 years earlier in Venice