Andries De Coninck
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Andries de Coninck or Andries de Koninck ( – 30 March 1659) was a Flemish art dealer and
still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...
painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
active in Antwerp. He is known for his ''
pronkstilleven ''Pronkstilleven'' (Dutch for 'ostentatious', 'ornate' or 'sumptuous' still life) is a style of ornate still life painting, which was developed in the 1640s in Antwerp from where it spread quickly to the Dutch Republic. Development Flemish art ...
s'', the still lifes that were popular in Flanders and the Dutch Republic from the 1640s.Andries de Coninck
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History


Life

Little is known about the life of Andries de Coninck. He was likely born in Antwerp. He was registered in the guild year 1643–1644 at the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke as an apprentice of Jan Thomas van Ieperen, a history and portrait painter.Ph. Rombouts and Th. van Lerius, De liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche sint Lucasgilde
Volume 2, Antwerp, 1864, p. 79, on Google books
The words 'schilder en handelaar' (painter and dealer) were added behind his name in the register. In 1645 de Coninck was registered as a master in the Antwerp Guild in the capacity of an art dealer. He was listed in the 1658/59 guild records as koopman (art dealer). It is possible that the artist abandoned his painting career in favour of his trading business. His wife Christina Benedetti was probably a sister of the still life painter
Andries Benedetti Andries Benedetti (c. 1615 – c. 1669) was a Flemish still life painter mainly active in Antwerp who is known for his fruit still lifes and pronkstillevens.Andries de Coninck, ''An elaborate still life with a lobster, sweetmeat pie, oysters, fruit, and a blue and white wanli bowl, a partly filled tall, glass flagon of wine, a silver pokal and silver jug, all arranged on a draped table, a view of the countryside through a window behind''
at Sotheby's
The couple's son Andries was later active as a lace dealer and broker in Cádiz, Spain.John Everaert, ''De Internationale en koloniale handel der Vlaamse firma's te Cadiz: 1670-1700'',De Tempel, 1973, p. De Conick died on 30 March 1659 when he was probably not even 35 years old. That likely explains why so few of his paintings have been reported. Another reason could be that he ceased painting to focus solely on his art dealer business.


Work

Andries de Coninck was a
still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...
specialist who is known for his
pronkstilleven ''Pronkstilleven'' (Dutch for 'ostentatious', 'ornate' or 'sumptuous' still life) is a style of ornate still life painting, which was developed in the 1640s in Antwerp from where it spread quickly to the Dutch Republic. Development Flemish art ...
s, the sumptuous still lifes that were popular in Flanders and the Dutch Republic from the 1640s. Only five works are ascribed to him.Andries de Coninck, ''Sumptuous still life with a lobster and fruit''
at the Saleroom
Four of these are signed by the artist, two with the spelling of his last name as 'de Coninck' and two with the spelling 'de Koninck'. All his known works have broadly the same composition with an elaborate pronk still life displayed on a draped table before an open window on the left opening out to a landscape. His work was indebted to de work of
Jan Davidszoon de Heem Jan Davidsz. de Heem or in-full ''Jan Davidszoon de Heem'', also called ''Johannes de Heem'' or ''Johannes van Antwerpen'' or ''Jan Davidsz de Hem'' (c. 17 April 1606 in Utrecht – before 26 April 1684 in Antwerp), was a still life painter ...
, a prominent Dutch still life painter who was active in Antwerp from the mid-1630s. His brother-in-law Andries Benedetti also painted large still lifes, which followed the innovations of de Heem. As a result it is sometimes difficult to distinguish compositions by de Coninck from work by Benedetti. The genre of the pronk still lifes practised by de Coninck had been developed in Antwerp in the 1630s. It was particularly fashionable during the 1640s and 1650s in both Flanders and in Holland. Particularly in Antwerp, Amsterdam and Utrecht various artists created works in this genre. These works typically depict foods and fruits together with a number of precious objects: Venetian glassware, Chinese Wan–li porcelain, silver plates and gilt goblets. The intention of the paintings appears to be to express the status of their owners. At the same time they are also believed to carry a moral lesson, i.e. they can be read as vanitas paintings, which warn about the fleetingness of life and the emptiness of wealth and earthly possessions.


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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coninck, Andries de 1659 deaths Flemish Baroque painters Flemish still life painters Businesspeople from Antwerp Painters from Antwerp Year of birth uncertain