![David Rijckaert - Stilleven met gebraden kapoen - 0272 - Rijksmuseum Twenthe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/David_Rijckaert_-_Stilleven_met_gebraden_kapoen_-_0272_-_Rijksmuseum_Twenthe.jpg)
David Rijckaert II (1586 in
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, – 1642 in Antwerp) was a Flemish painter and art dealer active in Antwerp. He contributed to the early development of still lifes as an independent genre through his delicate rendering of banquets and sumptuous tabletop still lifes.
Life
David Rijckaert II was born in Antwerp in 1586 as the oldest child of David Rijckaert the Elder and Catharina Rem. As the family was Protestant, young David was not baptized in a Catholic church. After the restrictions on Protestants became tighter, his parents reconverted to Catholicism and had David baptized in the
Antwerp Cathedral
The Cathedral of Our Lady ( nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been ...
following Catholic rites on 9 August 1589. This was a few days before they married each other for a second time in a Catholic church.
[Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden, ''Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool'', Antwerpen, 1883, p. 601-603 ][David Rijckaert II]
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 ...
David the Elder was a brewer and a painter of wooden statues who had become a master of the Antwerp
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 1585.
[Bernadette Van Haute. ''David III Ryckaert: A Seventeenth-Century Flemish Painter of Peasant Scenes.'' Volume 1, Doctoral thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Literature and Philosophy at the University of South Africa, November 1996, pp. 10-12] He is also mentioned as a dealer in paintings.
[ David Rijckaert II had 7 younger siblings of whom ]Marten
A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...
(born in 1587) became a prominent landscape painter.[
David trained with his father and became a master painter of the Antwerp ]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 the guild year 1607–1608.[Ph. Rombouts and Th. van Lerius, ''De liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche sint Lucasgilde'']
Volume 1, Antwerp, 1864, p. 443 David Rijckaert II spent his entire career in Antwerp. He married Catharina de Merre on 19 July 1608. The couple had at least two children: Catharina in 1610 and David III
David III Kuropalates (, ''Davit’ III Kurapalati'') or David III the Great (დავით III დიდი, ''Davit’ III Didi''), also known as David II, (c. 930s – 1000/1001) was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid family of Tao, a histori ...
in 1612. Some records note a second daughter Martina born in 1616.[
]
David Rijckaert II appears not to have achieved great success as a painter. He likely worked as an art dealer to supplement his income. He never had sufficient resources to buy a property.[ Nevertheless, he must have enjoyed a good reputation among fellow artists as the young ]Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
collaborated with him on the ''Sleeping Silenus'' (circa 1611, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria.
History
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...
). Ryckaert was tasked with adding the glasses, metalwork and porcelain to the composition of Rubens. A third artist painted in the grapes.
He died in 1642 in Antwerp where he was buried on 3 October of that year.[ After he was buried on 3 October 1642 his small estate was confiscated.][
David Rijckaert II was the teacher of his son David III, who became a prominent genre painter. Even though not registered as such at the Guild, ]Gonzales Coques
Gonzales Coques (between 1614 and 1618 – 18 April 1684) was a Flemish painter of portraits and history paintings.Veronique van Passel, "Coques ocks; Cox Gonzales onsael; Gonsalo" ''Grove Art Online''. Oxford University Press, ccessed 4 Octob ...
was also his pupil and became a leading Antwerp portrait painter. He married his daughter Catharina.[ In addition, Carel Ruwaert was registered as his pupil in the guild year 1609–1610, Jan Speeck in 1611 and Fransiskus de Fonteyn in the guild year 1628–1629.][
]
Work
David Rijckaert II was earlier believed to have been a painter of landscapes as well as genre scenes
Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...
. The current view is that he did not paint landscapes as the attribution of landscapes to him was the result of a mix-up with his brother Martin, a prominent landscape painter. The genre scenes formerly attributed to him are now held to be by the hand of his son David III.[
It was only in 1995 when Christie's offered the ''Still life with shells with a nautilus, vases, glasses and Chinese porcelain'', which was signed and dated 'DAVIDT.RYCKAERTS. / .1616.' for sale that the art historian Fred Meijer identified the artist of the piece as David Rijckaert II. This led to the conclusion that David Rijckaert II was in fact a specialist still life painter rather than a landscape or genre painter.][David Rijckaert (II) (1586–1642), ''A stoneware ewer, a Berkemeyer and a conical glass in a bekerschroef, with confectionary in a silver platter, on a ledge'']
at Christie’s David Rijckaert II remains to date a relatively mysterious and obscure artist since art historians are still in the process of putting together his œuvre from a few signed works. New attributions still occur such as in 2009 when the ''Still life with a lemon and capon'' in the Rijksmuseum Twenthe
The Rijksmuseum Twenthe in Enschede, the Netherlands, was founded in 1927 by textile industry Baron Jan Bernard Van Heek. He donated his own private collection and the museum building to the government, thus making it a national museum.
The muse ...
was attributed to Ryckaert. There are currently only about 15 still lifes attributed to David Rijckaert II. As his style is close to that of the leading Antwerp still life painters Osias Beert
Osias Beert or Osias Beert the Elder (c. 1580 – 1623) was a Flemish painter active in Antwerp who played an important role in the early development of flower and "breakfast"-type still lifes as independent genres in Northern European art. He ...
and Jacob Foppens van Es
Jacob Foppens van Es, Jacob Fopsen van Es or Jacob van Es (c. 1596 Antwerp – 1666 Antwerp) was a Flemish Baroque painter known for his still lifes mainly of food and occasionally flower paintings. He collaborated with other artists on ...
, some of his works were previously attributed to these two artists.[David Rijckaert (II) (1586–1642), ''Still life with shells, a nautilus, vases, glasses and Chinese porcelain'']
at Christie’s This is for instance the case with the '' Still life with lobster'' at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...
, formerly attributed to Osias Beert and the ''Still life with oysters, fruit, biscuits and ornamental tableware'' in the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent
The Museum of Fine Arts ( nl, Museum voor Schone Kunsten, MSK) an art museum in Ghent, Belgium, is situated at the East side of the Citadelpark (near the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst).
The museum's collection consists of some 9000 artworks ...
, formerly attributed to Osias Beert and Jacob Foppens van Es.''Still life with oysters, fruit, biscuits and ornamental tableware''
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History
The known works of David Rijckaert II fall into two categories: sumptuous still lifes of porcelain, expensive glassware, silverware, pewter dishes, etc. and so-called ‘banketjes’, i.e. banquet or breakfast pieces depicting food on a tabletop.[David Rijckaert II (Antwerp, 1586 – Antwerp, 1642), ''Still life with a Silver-gilt covered Cup, Glasses, a Plate of Oysters, a Capon and a Chinese porcelain Plate with Sweets'']
at Floris van Wanroij Fine Art His works follow the stylistic characteristics of the earliest still life painters Osias Beert
Osias Beert or Osias Beert the Elder (c. 1580 – 1623) was a Flemish painter active in Antwerp who played an important role in the early development of flower and "breakfast"-type still lifes as independent genres in Northern European art. He ...
(c. 1580-late 1624), Georg Flegel (1566-1638) and Clara Peeters
Clara Peeters (active 1607–1621) was a Flemish still-life painter from Antwerp who worked in both the Spanish Netherlands and Dutch Republic.
Peeters is the best-known female Flemish artist of this era and one of the few women artists work ...
(?1589-1657) in their chromatic palette, sharply illuminated foreground and meticulous, realistic rendering of the objects depicted.[ They also resemble to a lesser extent the work of his contemporary, the Antwerp still life artist ]Jacob van Hulsdonck
Jacob van Hulsdonck or Jan van Hulsdonck (1582, Antwerp – 1647, Antwerp), was a Flemish painter who played a role in the early development of the genre of still lifes of fruit, banquets and flowers.
Life
Jacob van Hulsdonck was born in Antw ...
.[ The market for his small cabinet pictures would have been educated collectors of Antwerp who were familiar with their symbolism and religious references.][
Ryckaert's compositions are painstakingly constructed with meticulous attention to detail. The objects and forms are arranged in separation from each other on the inclined surface of a table. By juxtaposing food, dishes and precious objects within various planes in space David Rijckaert II is able to increase their legibility. The frontal and distributive presentation is still archaic while his attention for detail and strong realism show his adherence to the Flemish tradition. Characteristic for his style are the dark abstract backgrounds and the bright, enamel-like colours.][
]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rijckaert, David 2
Flemish Baroque painters
Flemish still life painters
Flemish art dealers
Artists from Antwerp
Painters from Antwerp
1586 births
1642 deaths