Gaspar de Witte (variations on his first name: Caspar, Jasper, and Jaspar) (bapt. 5 October 1624,

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,

- 20 March 1681, Antwerp) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

painter who is known for his landscapes and gallery paintings.

Life

Gaspar de Witte was born in Antwerp as the son of Peter de Witte II en Barbara Remeeus. He was member of a prominent painting family. His father and his brothers

Peter de Witte III Peter de Witte (1617, Antwerp, to 1667, Antwerp), was a Flemish Baroque painter. Biography According to the Dutch biographer Arnold Houbraken, the painter whose name was spelled Peter de Wit was worthy of indexing in Houbraken's ''De groote schoub ...

and Jan Baptist de Witte were all painters. Gaspar was also the godchild of

Gerard Seghers Gerard SeghersGerard Seghers
at the

Gaspar de Witte
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 ...

Gaspar de Witte trained with his father, who was specialized in landscapes, church interiors and religious paintings. Gaspar de Witte travelled to Rome in 1646 and joined the

Bentvueghels The Bentvueghels (Dutch for "Birds of a Feather") were a society of mostly Dutch and Flemish artists active in Rome from about 1620 to 1720. They are also known as the Schildersbent ("painters' clique"). Activities The members, which included ...

, an association of mainly Dutch and Flemish artists working in Rome. It was the custom in the Bentvueghels to initiate new members and give them a nickname (the so-called bentname). Gaspar de Witte was given the nickname ''Grondel'' ("

Gudgeon A gudgeon is a socket-like, cylindrical (i.e., ''female'') fitting attached to one component to enable a pivoting or hinging connection to a second component. The second component carries a pintle fitting, the male counterpart to the gudgeon, ...

").Gaspar de Witte
on Hadrianus. The reason why he was named after this species of fish is not known. Around 1648 he is reported to have spent time in France. When he returned to Antwerp he became "winemaster" (used to denote the son of a master) in 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 1650. Gaspar de Witte also operated a small trading business in painting necessities. His engraved portrait by the engraver

Richard Collin Richard Collin (1626, Luxembourg – 1698, Brussels), was an engraver from Luxembourg. Biography According to the RKD he was a pupil of Joachim von Sandrart in Rome, and became a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1650–1651.

after a painting by

Anton Goubau Anton Goubau or Anton Goebouw (1616 in Antwerp – 1698 in Antwerp) was a Flemish Baroque painter. He spent time in Rome where he moved in the circle of the Bamboccianti, Dutch and Flemish genre painters who created small cabinet paintings of th ...

was published in

Cornelis de Bie Cornelis de Bie (10 February 1627 – ) was a Flemish '' rederijker'', poet, jurist and minor politician from Lier. He is the author of about 64 works, mostly comedies. He is known internationally today for his biographical sketches of Flemish ...

's 17th century book on Flemish painters called

Het Gulden Cabinet ''Het Gulden Cabinet vande Edel Vry Schilder-Const'' or ''The Golden Cabinet of the Noble Liberal Art of Painting'' is a book by the 17th-century Flemish notary and ''Chamber of rhetoric, rederijker'' Cornelis de Bie published in Antwerp. Writte ...

. He was the teacher of Cornelis Huysmans and possible also of Adriaen Verdoel.Adriaan Verdoel Biography
in:

Arnold Houbraken Arnold Houbraken (28 March 1660 – 14 October 1719) was a Dutch painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters. Life Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadtwisting'' (Twyndraat) fr ...

, ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'', 1718

Work

General

Gaspar de Witte - Italianate Landscape with Shepherds at a Fountain

Gaspar de Witte is remembered for his landscapes and his collaborations with other artists on gallery paintings.

Landscapes

His landscapes are similar to those of his contemporary landscape painters of Brussels. Most of them are not in the Italianate style then popular in Flanders but he often still included some Italian antique relics to respond to the prevalent taste in the local market. His landscapes often included pastoral scenes with shepherds, religious scenes or genre scenes such as village fairs or dances. His landscapes often involved collaborations with other painters who painted the

staffage In painting, staffage () are the human and animal figures depicted in a scene, especially a landscape, that are not the primary subject matter of the work. Typically they are small, and there to add an indication of scale and add interest. Before ...

. Four collaborations with

on Italianizing landscapes are recorded. In addition to imaginary landscapes he also produced a number of topographical views of country estates. These were often executed in collaboration with other painters who painted the

. An example is the '' View of Schoten Castle'', which was a collaborative effort with

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 ...

. This composition shows a bird-eye view of Schoten Castle in

Schoten Schoten () is a municipality located in Antwerp Province, Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Schoten proper. As of 1 January 2020 Schoten has a total population of 34,311. The total area is which gives a population density of ...

painted by de Witte with two woman and a boy painted by Coques in the front right corner. Another example of a collaboration with Coques is the '' Portrait of Clara Rubens with Her Family'', which shows Clara Rubens, the daughter of Peter Paul Rubens, with her family against a background landscape showing Merksem Castle.

Gallery paintings

Gaspar de Witte was a collaborator in a few compositions belonging to the genre of the 'gallery paintings'. The 'gallery paintings' genre is native to Antwerp where

Frans Francken the Younger Frans Francken the Younger (1581 in Antwerp, 1581 – 6 May 1642, in Antwerp) was a Flemish painter who created altarpieces and furniture panels and gained his reputation chiefly through his small and delicate cabinet pictures with historical, m ...

and

Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder (, ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He was the son of the eminent Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A close friend and frequent collaborato ...

were the first artists to create paintings of art and curiosity collections in the 1620s.Susan Merriam, ''SeventeenthCentury Flemish Garland Paintings. Still Life, Vision and the Devotional Image'', Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2012 Gallery paintings depict large rooms in which many paintings and other precious items are displayed in elegant surroundings. The earliest works in this genre represented art objects together with other items such as scientific instruments or peculiar natural specimens. The genre became immediately quite popular and was followed by other artists such as

Jan Brueghel the Younger Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Younger (, ; ; 13 September 1601 – 1 September 1678) was a Flemish Baroque painter. He was the son of Jan Brueghel the Elder, and grandson of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, both prominent painters who c ...

Cornelis de Baellieur Cornelis de Baellieur (1607, Antwerp – 1671, Antwerp), was a Flemish Baroque painter. Biography According to the RKD he was a pupil of Anthonis Liesaert and is known for paintings of art galleries such as '' Interior of an Art Gallery''.

Hans Jordaens Hans Jordaens the Elder (1555–1630), was a Flemish Baroque painter whose religious works are often confused with that of other painters with the same name. Biography He was born in Antwerp, but after the siege of Antwerp, his family moved to ...

David Teniers the Younger David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II (bapt. 15 December 1610 – 25 April 1690) was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, draughtsman, miniaturist painter, staffage painter, copyist and art curator. He was an extremely versatile arti ...

Gillis van Tilborch Gillis van Tilborgh or Gillis van Tilborch (''c''. 1625 – ''c''. 1678) was a Flemish painter who worked in various genres including portraits, 'low-life' and elegant genre paintings and paintings of picture galleries. He became the keeper of ...

, Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg and

Hieronymus Janssens Hieronymus Janssens or Jeroom Janssens (nicknamed ''Den danser'') (1624, Antwerp – 1693, Antwerp) was a Flemish genre painter known for his compositions depicting elegant companies engaging in dance, music or play, which were of influence on the ...

. The picture galleries depicted were sometimes real galleries. However, the majority were imaginary galleries, which sometimes included allegorical figures.Marr, Alexander (2010) 'The Flemish 'Pictures of Collections' Genre: An Overview', Intellectual History Review, 20: 1, 5–25 An example of a gallery painting by Caspar de Witte is the ''Interior of an art collector's cabinet with many visitors'', which is a collaboration with

and

Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg or Willem Schubart van Ehrenberg (also: Wilhem Schubert von Ehrenberg or Wilhem Schubert van Ehrenberg (Antwerp, 1630 or 1637– Antwerp, c. 1676) was a Flemish painter mainly active in Antwerp who specialized in a ...

. The composition depicts an imaginary art gallery with many visitors who are appreciating and discussing some of the artworks in the gallery. This gallery painting represents a later development in the genre initiated by David Teniers the Younger that excluded non-art objects from the gallery. The figures in the gallery painting are portrayed as if they form part of an elite who possess a privileged knowledge, i.e. the ability to appreciate art. The genre of gallery paintings had by that time become a medium to accentuate the notion that the powers of discernment associated with connoisseurship are socially superior to or more desirable than other forms of knowing. Gaspar de Witte has been identified recently as the painter likely responsible for an allegorical gallery painting referred to as '' The allegorical female figures Nature and Pictura in an art-collection, with representative Antwerp canvasses''. Rather than representing an actual depiction of a picture gallery with collectors, art dealers or famous painters this composition falls into the allegorical type of gallery painting as it places two allegorical figures in the gallery. The figure of Plenty on the left has beside her three putti bearing a cornucopia, symbolizing her largesse. Seated beside her is a personification of Pictura or Painting who is identified by the palette in her hands. The statues and books on the table and the musical instrument below refer to a wider embodiment of the Arts in general. The allegory was intended to be one of Peace or the effects of Peace since in the lower right hand corner of the gallery are the accoutrements of war, discarded in a pile.A picture gallery with an allegory of peace
at Sotheby's The picture can also be regarded as an allegorical representation of the vanitas of worldly pursuits such as war which are transient in comparison to the arts and love, which endure for forever. Gaspar de Witte was one of the collaborators in the gallery painting by

Jacob de Formentrou Jacob de Formentrou or Jacob de Fourmentrou (b. between 1620 and 1625 - d. after 1668) was a Flemish Baroque painter active in Antwerp who specialized in the genres of merry companies and gallery paintings. Life Very little is known about the li ...

referred to as ''Cabinet of pictures'', currently in the

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 ...

.Jacob de Formentrou (fl.164059), A cabinet of pictures
at the Royal Collection It depicts a room full of pictures populated with human figures who are usually interpreted as representing art

connoisseur A connoisseur ( French traditional, pre-1835, spelling of , from Middle-French , then meaning 'to be acquainted with' or 'to know somebody/something') is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts; who is a keen appreciator ...

s. The various pictures that are hung on the walls of the room represent works of leading mid-17th-century artists of Antwerp.Hannelore Magnus, 'Schilders, connoisseurs en hun (Salomons)oordeel, Het Schilderijenkabinet (1659) van Jacob de Formentrou en Erasmus II Quellinus'
''A cabinet of pictures'' depicts an imaginary gallery and can be seen as a summing up of the best of what artists in mid 17th-century Antwerp could produce.Nadia Sera Baadj, ''Monstrous creatures and diverse strange things": The Curious Art of Jan van Kessel the Elder (16261679)'', A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History of Art) in The University of Michigan, 2012 It is believed that the pictures included in the composition were painted by each of the relevant artists. Gaspar de Witte is believed to have painted the landscape right of the door, signed G.D.WITTE.''Art lovers in a painting cabinet''
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History The fact that de Witte was selected to participate in this collaborative effort demonstrates the esteem in which he was held by his fellow artists in Antwerp in his time.

Life

Work

General

Landscapes

Gallery paintings

References

Further reading