![Cornelis de Vos - Self-Portrait of the Artist with his Wife Suzanne Cock and their Children - WGA25310](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Cornelis_de_Vos_-_Self-Portrait_of_the_Artist_with_his_Wife_Suzanne_Cock_and_their_Children_-_WGA25310.jpg)
Cornelis de Vos (1584 – 9 May 1651) was a Flemish
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 ...
,
draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to:
* An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century
* An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...
and
art dealer
An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art.
An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationshi ...
. He was one of the leading portrait painters in Antwerp and is best known for his sensitive
portrait
A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...
s, in particular of children and families. He was also successful in other genres including
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
, religious and
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
painting. He was a regular collaborator with Rubens.
Life
He was born in
Hulst
Hulst () is a municipality and city in southwestern Netherlands in the east of Zeelandic Flanders.
History
Hulst received city rights in the 12th century.
Hulst was captured from the Spanish in 1591 by Maurice of Orange but was recaptured b ...
near
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, , now in the Dutch province of
Zeeland
, nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge")
, anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem")
, image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg
, map_alt =
, m ...
. Little is known of his childhood. His father moved with his family to Antwerp in 1596.
[Vivien Gaston, ''A Powerful Appearance of Life: Cornelis de Vos’s Mother and child'']
/ref> Cornelis and his younger brothers Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
and Jan (or Hans) studied under the little-known painter David Remeeus (1559–1626). In 1599 de Vos is mentioned as Remeeus' pupil while on 8 May 1604 he is referred to as the chief assistant of Remeeus.[Cornelis de Vos]
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History
The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...
On 29 April 1604, de Vos petitioned the Antwerp City Council for a pass that would allow him to travel. This was a necessary procedure for artists who wished to be trained abroad. It is not known whether the young artist actually left the city to study abroad. De Vos joined the Guild of Saint Luke
The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was ide ...
in 1608 at the age of 24.[Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden, ''Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool'', Antwerpen, 1883, pp. 639–654 ] When he became a citizen of Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, in 1616 he listed his occupation as an art dealer.[Katlijne Van der Stighelen and Arnout Balis. "Vos, de (i)." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 20 February 2015]
Cornelis de Vos married the landscape painter Jan Wildens
Jan Wildens (1586 in Antwerp – 16 October 1653 in Antwerp) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman specializing in landscapes. His Realist landscapes show an eye for detail and have a serene character. He was a regular collaborator with Rube ...
's half-sister Susanna Cock on 27 May 1617. The couple had 6 children.[Matthias Depoorter, ''Cornelis de Vos'']
at barokinvlaanderen His sister Margaretha married the prominent animal painter Frans Snyders
Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders (11 November 1579, Antwerp – 19 August 1657, Antwerp) was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes and still lifes. He was one of the earliest specialist animaliers and he is credited with ...
. These marriages confirmed and solidified de Vos' role in Antwerp's artistic life.[
In 1619 de Vos served as the dean of the Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp. The same year he petitioned the Antwerp city council for permission to frequent the Saint-Germain market in Paris as an art dealer.][ In 1620 de Vos was elected high dean of the Guild of Saint Luke in recognition of his status in the city.][
]
De Vos developed a busy practice as a painter, particularly of portraits. In 1620 he painted the '' portrait of the painter Abraham Grapheus'' (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp ( Dutch: ''Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen'', ''KMSKA'') is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium, founded in 1810, that houses a collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings from the fourteenth ...
). He donated the work to the painters' chamber of the Guild of Saint Luke. De Vos received multiple commissions for family portraits from local patrons such as the wealthy merchant Joris Vekemans who ordered a portrait cycle of his family members (including his son Jan) in 1624. In 1627 he enjoyed royal patronage when 6 royal portraits were commissioned by respectively Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...
, the Archdukes Albert
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Alber ...
and Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...
, Henri III of France
Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke o ...
, Henry IV of France
Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...
and Marie de' Medici. He also worked on commissions from religious institutions.[ In 1628 he painted his only known landscape, a '' View of Hulst'', which he donated to his home town where it is still displayed in the city hall.][
During this period of busy activity as a painter de Vos continued to operate an art dealership. He also created works specifically for export, primarily to Spain.
Cornelis de Vos was one of the artists working on the decorations for the ]Joyous Entry
A Joyous Entry ( nl, Blijde Intrede, Blijde Inkomst, or ; ) is the official name used for the ceremonial royal entry, the first official peaceable visit of a reigning monarch, prince, duke or governor into a city, mainly in the Duchy of Braban ...
into Antwerp of the new governor of the Habsburg Netherlands Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand (also known as Don Fernando de Austria, Cardenal-Infante Fernando de España and as Ferdinand von Österreich; May 1609 or 1610 – 9 November 1641) was Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Cardinal of the Holy Catholic ...
in 1635. Rubens was in overall charge of this project. De Vos made decorative paintings after designs by Rubens. One of the hewn-out images that crowned the triumphal arch on the Meir, above the Huidevettersstraat, has been preserved and is attributed to the studio of de Vos ('' Jupiter and Juno'', Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp).
In the period 1636-1638 Rubens' workshop received a large commission to make mythological decorations for the hunting pavilion Torre de la Parada
The Torre de la Parada is a former hunting lodge that was located in present-day Monte de El Pardo in Fuencarral-El Pardo, near the Royal Palace of El Pardo, some way outside Madrid in the Sierra de Guadarrama. It was mostly destroyed by fire whe ...
of the Spanish king Philip IV near Madrid. For this project de Vos, together with a number of painters from Rubens' circle, painted decorations after oil sketches by Rubens.[
]
De Vos died in Antwerp, where he was buried in the Cathedral of Our Lady.[
His pupils included ]Jan Cossiers
Jan Cossiers (Antwerp, 15 July 1600 – Antwerp, 4 July 1671) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. Cossiers' earliest works were Caravaggesque genre works depicting low life scenes. Later in his career he painted mostly history and religi ...
, Alexander Daemps and Simon de Vos (to whom he was not related).[
]
Work
General
Cornelis de Vos painted in various genres. He initially painted mainly portraits and mythological, biblical and history scenes. He also created in the late 1620s, some monumental genre painting
Genre painting (or petit genre), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached ...
s. He used the monogram CDVF.[
His early work shows a clear influence by Rubens in terms of subject matter, motifs and Carravagesque influences. His work is notable for a warm palette and refined rendering of fabrics and gleaming jewelry with an eye for detail.][Marjorie E. Wieseman, ''Cornelis de Vos'', in: Peter C. Sutton (ed.), 'The Age of Rubens', exhibition catalogue, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1993, p. 374] Important features of his personal style were the lucid plasticity of painted flesh and the bright tactility of highlights.[ He used a fluid and transparent technique and applied fine brushstrokes.
While in his later work from the thirties he painted with a looser, more painterly technique and was less precise in rendering the details as shown in the ''Portrait of a young woman'' (mid 1630s, ]Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
), his overall technique remained soft and gentle.[Magdalena Łanuszka, ''A Suggested New Attribution of Seventeenth-Century Flemish Portrait of a Lady in York Art Gallery to Jan Cossiers'']
Biuletyn Historii Sztuki 1/2017, pp. 87-107
Portraits
De Vos was most successful as a painter of individual and group portraits, a genre in which he developed his own style.[Ford-Wille, Clare. "Vos, Cornelis de." The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Ed. Hugh Brigstocke. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 20 February 2015.] After the departure of Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh c ...
for England in 1621 and Rubens' absences from Antwerp on diplomatic and artistic missions, de Vos became the leading portraitist of the Antwerp haute-bourgeois and patrician society.[ His portraits show the influence of van Dyck.][ He placed his subjects set within restrained but rich interiors. He was able to achieve a sensitive portrayal of the characters of his sitters and the varied textures of their clothes through the use of an even, bright light as well as soft ]chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...
effects.[ He only commenced painting full-length portraits after van Dyck's return to Antwerp in 1627. In these portraits the figure is typically placed in front of architecture and an open landscape.][
He was particularly skilled in painting group portraits as well as portraits of children.][ While de Vos' portraits exhibit a new fluency of painting style and spontaneity in the depiction of children, this was combined with a simplicity free from rhetoric that harked back to the earlier Flemish masters. De Vos' portraits are able to communicate a relaxed and warm human affection. In his depiction of children he was a master at expressing their assertive personalities and playful energy. This earned him the recognition of patrons commissioned numerous portraits of children or family portraits featuring children.][
]
He produced some striking and intimate portraits of his own children.[ In a '' Portrait of his daughter Susanna'' (1617, Städel) he painted his daughter Susanna in a very informal manner. At first sight the picture seems to be a genre painting rather than a portrait of a particular child. It is clear that the painting was intended for personal use in that he depicted his daughter in a very intimate setting munching sweets. In the '' portrait of his two eldest children'' Magdalena and Jan-Baptist, de Vos portrays them not from a distance but brought forward close to the viewer's space. Magdalena looks back at the viewer over her shoulder and seems to invite the viewer in while Jan-Baptist leans forward with tilted head and is also staring at the viewer. He has his feet stretched out and the soles of his shoes are visible. In many of his portraits, de Vos included fruit as symbolic attributes for his sitters. In the portrait of his two eldest children Magdalena holds cherries in her right hand and a peach in her left hand. Peaches and cherries are symbols of youth as well as fertility.][
His family portraits emphasize the notion of family happiness, with marriage and the immediate family as the core values.][ As de Vos' patrons were mainly from the Antwerp bourgeoisie rather than the aristocracy, he was less pressured to magnify his sitters through rhetorical gestures and courtly graces as is commonly seen in van Dyck's portraits. He represents the relationships among the sitters through sensitive hand gestures often deployed in a complex counterpoint: giving, receiving, touching, reassuring. The achievements of his sitters are displayed through their lavish dress and the expensively decorated interiors while the sitters themselves exude solid, amiable and quiet confidence.][
]
History paintings
While Cornelis de Vos was one of Antwerp's leading portrait painters in the first half of the 17th century, he was also a sought-after painter of history pieces. In particular after circa 1635, de Vos, a successful art dealer, likely realized the growing demand for history paintings in the local and international market. From that date onwards he realized history paintings of a greater diversity in subject matter while his portrait production declined.
De Vos' history paintings relied on compositions of Rubens as their initial inspiration. An example of his can be seen in '' The Finding of Moses'' (c. 1631–1635, auctioned by Christie's on 6 May 2008, Amsterdam, lot 82). This painting goes back on a lost painting by Rubens with the same composition and subject matter, which is only known through a copy in a private collection in Geneva.
From 1624 onwards, Cornelis de Vos abandoned his thickly produced brush strokes for a lighter painting style and placed landscapes in the background. This change likely happened under the influence of Rubens. Starting from circa 1630, his compositions became less relief-like and his figures were placed more realistically in the space. The landscape also gradually got more attention while facial expressions became more intensive and the architecture in the background more developed. These changes followed contemporary developments in the Baroque style.[
]
Genre paintings
Less well-known are the genre paintings of Cornelis de Vos. These resemble the Caravaggio-influenced compositions of his contemporaries and pupils like Jan Cossiers, Simon de Vos and Theodoor Rombouts
Theodoor Rombouts (2 July 1597 – 14 September 1637) was a Flemish painter who is mainly known for his Caravaggesque genre scenes depicting lively dramatic gatherings as well as religiously-themed works.Hans Vlieghe. "Rombouts, Theodoor." Gr ...
. An example is '' The card game'' (Nationalmuseum
Nationalmuseum (or National Museum of Fine Arts) is the national gallery of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm.
The museum's operations stretches far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, the nationalmuseum manag ...
, Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
), which depicts players at a card game, a theme which was very popular with the Flemish followers of Caravaggio. The composition is also known through an engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...
made by Alexander Voet in the 1630s (Royal Collection
The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world.
Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...
), which clearly identifies Cornelis de Vos as the author of the original painting.
Another variation on the theme of players, '' Players and courtesans under a tent'' (Musée de Picardie
The Musée de Picardie is the main museum of Amiens and Picardy, in France. It is located at 48, rue de la République, Amiens. Its collections include artifacts ranging from prehistory to the 19th century, and form one of the largest regiona ...
), has been attributed to de Vos based on its similarity with the work in Stockholm. Previously it was attributed to the French follower of Caravaggio, Valentin de Boulogne
Valentin de Boulogne (before 3 January 1591 – 19 August 1632), sometimes referred to as Le Valentin, was a French painter in the tenebrist style.
Origins
Valentin was born in Coulommiers, France, where he was baptised in the parish of Sai ...
.
Another genre composition involving backgammon players referred to as '' The game of backgammon'' (c. 1630, Musée Boucher-de-Perthes) is attributed to Cornelis de Vos.
Collaborations
Cornelis de Vos often collaborated with fellow artists as was common in Antwerp at the time. He painted the staffage in still lifes by his brother-in-law Frans Snyders and in return his brother Paul and Frans Snyders painted the fruit, animals, silver plate and armour in his own work. Jan Wildens, another brother-in-law, assisted with the landscapes in many of his works.[
De Vos was a frequent collaborator of Rubens. Around 1617 he painted two panels, the '' Adoration of the shepherds'' and the '' ]Presentation in the Temple
A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presenta ...
'', that were part of a series of paintings on the theme of the "Mystery of the Rosary Cycle" in which other local painters, including Rubens (who oversaw the project), van Dyck, and Jacob Jordaens
Jacob (Jacques) Jordaens (19 May 1593 – 18 October 1678) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and tapestry designer known for his history paintings, genre scenes and portraits. After Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, he was the leading Fle ...
participated. De Vos' two paintings joined the 13 paintings made by these other painters in Antwerp's St. Paul's Church. Here they flanked Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...
's ''Madonna of the Rosary
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
'', which was placed in the church in 1620. While Caravaggio's masterwork was later stolen by the Austrian masters of the Southern Netherlands, de Vos' works are still in the St. Paul's Church.
De Vos assisted Rubens with the large commissions of the Rubens workshop in the 1630s. He worked for Rubens on the Joyous Entry of the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand (also known as Don Fernando de Austria, Cardenal-Infante Fernando de España and as Ferdinand von Österreich; May 1609 or 1610 – 9 November 1641) was Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Cardinal of the Holy Catholic ...
, a project for which he painted twelve royal portraits after Rubens' designs. Between 1636 and 1638 he, along with his brother Paul and many other Antwerp artists, assisted Rubens in decorating the Torre de la Parada
The Torre de la Parada is a former hunting lodge that was located in present-day Monte de El Pardo in Fuencarral-El Pardo, near the Royal Palace of El Pardo, some way outside Madrid in the Sierra de Guadarrama. It was mostly destroyed by fire whe ...
, a hunting lodge of Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...
near Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. Cornelis contributed four paintings on mythological themes to the series made for the Torre de la Parada: '' The triumph of Bacchus'', ''The birth of Venus
''The Birth of Venus'' ( it, Nascita di Venere ) is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, probably executed in the mid 1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea ...
'', '' Apollo and the Python'' and '' Daphne chased by Apollo''. These works are now in the collection of the Prado Museum
The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...
. They were based on designs by Rubens which have also been preserved. This makes it possible to compare the designs by Rubens with the works completed by Cornelis de Vos. In ''The triumph of Bacchus'' de Vos' brush stroke is less energetic and free than that displayed in the Rubens sketch. De Vos' treatment of the faces also differs in that they are less expressive and dramatic than in the sketch.Cornelis de Vos, ''El triunfo de Baco''
at the Prado
While de Vos' collaborations with Rubens on projects in the 1630s appear not to have influenced his style, they did influence his technique.[
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vos, Cornelis De
Flemish Baroque painters
Flemish portrait painters
Flemish genre painters
Flemish history painters
Artists from Antwerp
Painters from Antwerp
People from Hulst
1584 births
1651 deaths