RKD STUDIES

Bibliography

... of Historical Paintings, PhD Thesis, University of Antwerp and Uni...

... weerts: New Information from Elisabeth Coymans’s ‘Journael’’, ...

... still lifes combining MA-XRF scanning, cross-section analysis and technical historical sources’, in: Heritage Science 5, 38 (2017). DOI: https://doi.org/10...

... ue in the oeuvre of Michael Sweerts and other Flemish and Dutch baroque painters. A 17th c. empirica...

... technical approach to assess the authenticity of a disputed painting’, in: Heritage Science 5, 22 (2017)....

... ens (ed.), Looking Through Paintings, Leids Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek XI, Baarn and London 1998, p. 227-267...

... issertation, University of Hamburg 1954...

... A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Washington and London 1993, p. 11...

... is, Rubens doorgelicht: Meekijken over de schouder van een virtuoos, Brussels 2010...

... ist and the Academy in Rome and Brussels, Turnhout 2015...

... ully acknowledge the involved collections (the Mauritshuis, Museum Gouda, The Kremer Collection, Redivivus Conse...

9.3 Dark Halos in Sweerts’ Italian Paintings

... os surrounding all figures in the elemental distribution maps of iron, manganese, potassium and lead [14-15]. Each halo seems to have been painted with a slightly different paint mixture, as the signal intensity of the elements differ from halo to halo. All halos contain iron, but only the halo framing the head of the boy pointing towards the door emerges in the lead map, whereas the halo around the head of the boy in the bright red uniform seems comparatively richer in manganese.In A Game of Backgammon, halos can be seen in the lead, iron and copper maps [16-19]. In this painting too, each halo seems to have been painted with a slightly different paint mixture, while microscopic examination indicated that all halos have a greyish colour....

... rtrait could be established’.33 Verspronck added a dark halo to be able to establish the correct highlights, mid-tones and shadows right away. The dark (grey) halo thus served as a colour reference in the earliest painting stage, when no tonal benchmark was available to the artist....

... ntings originating from his Italian period. This indicates that apparently, Sweerts did not need this technique while working in the Low Countries on a double, grey over red ground, suggesting that the dark halo technique may be a way for Sweerts to deal with the typical Italian (reddish) brown ground....

8. The Master of the Roman Songbook

... e situated in Rome around 1650. Several illustrations in the music manuscript contain accurate images of central Rome that the artist most likely drew on the spot. On the basis of a number of topographical details we can narrow down the dating of the manuscript to a period of a few years. Moreover, since the figures depicted and the music repertoire refers to the Roman high society of the 17th century, it may be assumed that the identity of this artist, possibly a highly skilled amateur, must be sought within the aristocratic context he or she depicted....

7.3 'henritio zones fl. 60 / Roma, 1647'

... whether the signed drawing with inscription is by the Sonnius who is mentioned in the Roman parish archives. Until now it was assumed that the drawing was made by the Sonnius who is registered in the archives of The Hague’s guild.31 Although the profession of the Hendrick Sonnius mentioned in the Roman parish archive is not specified, and Hoogewerff suggests that his name should be read as Hendrik Hendrikszoon, we cannot exclude the possibility that the drawing was created by 'Henritio Zonius, Aghenesis in Hollandia'....

7.2 Johannes Lingelbach

... 50 and 1653. However, based on a letter of 1675 from Francesco Oddi to Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici (1617–1675), which contains a list of painters, sculptors and architects working in Naples from 1640 onwards, we can assume that Lingelbach also spent time in Naples, where he may have been active before his return trip to the Netherlands.26 One of his paintings is believed to depict Mount Vesuvius [7]; on stylistic grounds that is usually dated to the late 1650s. In fact we know of no works from his time in Italy, whereas there are signed and dated paintings of almost every year after his return to Amsterdam.27...

5.3 Brussels Artists and the Accademia di San Luca

... tique and from the nude model.67 But how can we explain his involvement at this particular moment: had Cousin offered Sweerts a welcoming hand, as Duquesnoy had done years earlier, by introducing him to the Accademia di San Luca and giving him this opportunity?The latter seems to have been the case. In the mid-1640s, Cousin worked for the Pamphilj family, executing a series of small-scale devotional works on copper for Pope Innocent X.68 By 1651, Sweerts, too, was employed in various capacities by the papal nephew, Prince Camillo Pamphilj (1622-1666), including involvement in an academy in the Pamphilj palace. In late 1651 and early 1652, Camillo made payments to two male models who posed regularly in what was described as the ‘Accademia de Pittori,’ or ‘Academy of Painters.’69 This remarkable notation suggests that Camillo opened his palace to give artists the opportunity to draw from the live model, encouraging an environment for renewed artistic practice and discourse.The years of the Pamphili academy overlap with Cousin’s tenure as principe of the Accademia di San Luca, the position he held from late 1651 to 1653.70 Cousin, who was later praised for being ‘a man of valor and of optimum sentiments towards the Academy’, had made great efforts during his tenure to support the institution’s teaching activities, which were then in decline.71 The ‘Accademia dei Pittori’ was a term often used in contemporary documents to describe the Accademia di San Luca, which suggests that the drawing sessions held in Camillo’s palace were intended to provide members and associates of the Academy with a proper place to draw.72 In light of the dynamics among this group of Brussels artists since Cousin’s arrival in Rome in 1626, should the ‘Academy of Painters’ be understood as a fulfillment of Cousin and Sweerts’ intertwining artistic, academic, and professional pursuits?...

3.2 A Matter of Style: Artistic Exchanges in the Roman Milieu

... layers [6], signed ‘Gio Mele fecit/ 1633’ and The Shoemaker [7], signed ‘? Mele fecit/ 163?’.15 The existence of these paintings that are clearly influenced by Van Laer and date to 1633 indicates that Miel was already in Rome at that date, three years before his first documented presence in the city. It is of course possible that Miel was in Rome even earlier than 1633, but there are no archival documents or artworks to substantiate this....

... ere clearly interested in collecting this kind of painting: this is further suggested by the 1634 inventory of the collection of Cardinal Francesco Barberini (1597–1679), Urban’s nephew, which records the presence of a painting by Van Laer.19 It is also worth noting that during this decade the production of bambocciate was not the exclusive domain of Northern artists. Italian painters also began to work in this genre: Michelangelo Cerquozzi (1602–1660), also known as Michelangelo delle Battaglie, was one of the first in Rome to take on this style of painting [10]....

... ing the Church of the Gesù also marks a crucial turning point in Miel’s career, because it clearly documents the existence of a connection with Andrea Sacchi, a connection that could already be perceived in Miel’s style. This collaboration between the two artists is cited in Baldinucci’s biography,21 but he read this episode as the reason behind the breakup of their relationship. Baldinucci mentions a harsh fight between Miel and Sacchi, caused by Sacchi’s disgust with the lack of decorum of the bambocciate.22 In Baldinucci’s opinion, their quarrel led Miel to abandon the production of canvases of daily life in order to study, improve his technique, and dedicate himself to history painting.23...

... reat experimentation in genre painting Miel increased his activity in the field of history painting. His little-known early activity as peintre-graveur and his painting on copper of The Assumption of the Virgin suggest that upon his arrival in Rome he was already capable of handling both genres. Another work of the 1640s is the virtually unknown Mater Dolorosa [15], signed and dated 1647, which was clearly made for the flourishing market in works for private devotion, a function that can be inferred from the painting’s intimate subject matter and its small size.27 Contrary to the contemporary sources that suggest that Miel turned to history painting as the only way to elevate his artistic production, he showed a certain versatility, working in both history and genre painting, according to his patrons’ tastes and in order to gain his own place in the Roman art market....

2.3 The Origins of Dirck de Vries

... Nave d'Oro. Here the latest news from abroad was exchanged and discussed.Around 1964, D.J. van der Meer came across a certain Tyerck Feyesz (Frisian for Dirck, son of Frederick) in his genealogical research on some families in Leeuwarden at the end of the 16th century. In a deed of 1584 Tyerck Feyesz was referred to as ‘living in Venice’, and in another deed of 1586 as ‘a painter and citizen of Venice’.43 According to Van der Meer, Tyerck Feyesz was the son of Feye Tyercks and Lijsbeth Jansdr. The notarial deed of 1584 related to the sale by Tyerck Feyesz of a house on the Weerd in Leeuwarden; the deed of 1586 concerned the donation of land-rent to the 'teenager' Thomas van Herbayum (later a renowned lawyer), son of his notary Jacob van Herbayum. Tyerck Feyesz received this rent as ‘the sole heir of his grandmother Syts Thalinghs’. This implies that our Dirck de Vries did not have an elder brother called Nicolaus (unless the latter had been disinherited); that his eldest daughter Isabeta was named after her grandmother Lijsbeth and his eldest son Frederick after his grandfather; and also that our painter was reasonably prosperous and generous in spite of having three daughters already.Van der Meer’s findings are mentioned in a dissertation of 2008 by Piet Bakker, who claims without giving a source or reason that Dirck de Vries had left Leeuwarden in 1580. The record in the Status Animarum of 1592–1993 of the holy communion and confirmation of the painter and his wife and the confirmation of the eldest four children show that he was a Catholic. In 1580 the city of Leeuwarden embraced the Protestant faith, and that may have been a reason for him to leave. De Vries’s prosperity can also be deduced from the fact that he was able to marry off four of his five daughters before his death in 1612, providing four dowries (though they may have been modest) and covering the cost of the celebrations. The churches chosen for the weddings were all on islands in the lagoon (San Michele di Murano, San Giorgio Maggiore, San Cristoforo in Isola), which suggests cheerful pageants of gondolas. The elegant clothes of young Frederick in the engraving by Goltzius indicate that he was a well-off boy. The youngest daughter, Giustina, ended up in the Low Countries, probably with her mother Oegenia.44 She became the wife of the Delft flower and still-life painter Joris Gerritsz. van Lier (c. 1589–1656), who had been an apprentice of Karel van Mander II (c. 1579-1623) and had travelled to Paris and Rome in 1611 and 1612.45I would like to conclude with another fishmarket painting by De Vries [19]. In the foreground a fishmonger (who looks strikingly like De Vries and young Frederick) presents his goods. It is cloudy daybreak; the sun is rising above the Lido, the narrow and bare island on the horizon. We see the Palladian churches of San Giorgio Maggiore, with its façade still under construction, and the Zitelle on the Giudecca island. Fishermen are bringing in their catches, and the first buyers appear. We see gondolas with cabins and the old tower of the Punta della Dogana, a little taller than it really was. By current standards the water level in the lagoon is extraordinarily low ......

6.4 A Painter, a Palette, a Paper, and a Magnifier

... date, which would have challenged a well-informed period viewer, forms a subtle, but ingeniously construed reference to the coveted status of court painter conferred to him by decree, to which emoluments and unalienable privileges were attached; though this position was not officially conferred upon him by the Viennese court until 16 July 1749, it was obviously hinted at by the double eagle in this portrait.The image of Seybold as a ‘court painter’ imposes itself once again on the beholder thanks to the painter’s palette on the little side table [46]. With this motif, Seybold refers to Alexander the Great’s court painter Apelles, the role model par excellence for painters who aspired to elevate their status. Like other painters from antiquity, Apelles’s palette consisted only of four colours, white, yellow, red and black, which enabled him to paint convincing portraits.44 On the palette, however, there is no black paint, although one could argue that the colour is represented by the dark thumbhole and by the newspaper’s black printing ink, at which the aforementioned brush, balanced in the thumbhole, is pointing. Again, with this motif the viewer is encouraged to look at the paper.Seybold’s self-fashioning as Rembrandt van Rijn and his imitation of the master are even further emphasised by the painted fragment which contains the words ‘über den R[hein]’, in which the river’s name ‘Rhein’ is partly hidden from view by his index finger, though the wording is known from the actual issue [47]. The intention for this phrase to be understood as a meaningful motif can also be deduced from the fact that the words ‘über den R[…]’ are underlined by the shadow of the paper’s horizontal fold. Although Rembrandt, from 1632 onwards, preferred to use only his first name, in imitation of Italian Renaissance Masters such as Titian and Raphael, he was also known internationally by his full name, which includes the toponym referring to the tributary of the river Rhine that flows through Rembrandt’s birthplace Leiden.45 Can ‘über den R[hein]’ even be interpreted literally in the sense of Seybold surpassing Rembrandt? No doubt, as court painter, Seybold eclipsed the Dutch master’s social status, and perhaps he also overshadowed Rembrandt with his hitherto highly admired neat handling of paint.While the Self-Portrait can be enjoyed without any background knowledge, it can only be fully appreciated after comparing the fictional motifs in the painting with historical reality. Only this particular day’s issue of the Wienerisches Diarium could have offered Seybold the unique opportunity to illustrate both his emulation of Rembrandt and the achievement of his professional pinnacle. By relating the contents of the newspaper to a source of inspiration and the stage of his career, he created a highly personalised iconography. It remains unclear for whom this self-portrait was originally intended, but most likely the individual in question was a well-informed art lover, who was a connoisseur of both Seybold and Rembrandt.46...

3.4 Last Acquisitions

... nd that much less money was needed to be sent to Sweden after the death of Wilhelm’s brother, certainly favored his collecting activity.Within three years, from 1750 to 1752, Wilhelm achieved to bring his collection to an internationally high level. It is certainly no coincidence that during this period he took over the official position as reigning Landgrave of Hessen-Kassel after the death of his elder brother Friedrich I in April 1751. Wilhelm's collecting activity is therefore not only an example of taste and connoisseurship, but also has a very strong political background. He wanted to establish himself among the leading princes in Germany and had to compete with collectors such as Duke Anton Ulrich von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1633–1714) , Prince-elector Jan Willem in Düsseldorf or Prince-elector Friedrich August II of Saxony (1696-1763) in Dresden.54 When Landgrave Wilhelm's political efforts to raise his status during the War of the Austrian Succession failed in his military actions, he intensified his activities in the arts to demonstrate that, at least in this respect, he showed the same grandeur as the Electors. During these years, the plan for a separate gallery building was also implemented....