Peter Paul Rubens - Portrait of Jan Gaspar Gevartius - WGA20375

John Gaspar Gevartius or Jan Caspar Gevaerts (1593-1666) was the jurisconsult 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,

and in his lifetime a famous

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

. He was a personal friend of

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 ...

Life

Gaspar was born in

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

on 6 August 1593, the son of Johannes Gevaerts (1553-1613) and Cornelia Aerssens, whose father had been mayor of

Bergen op Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the local dialect) is a municipality and a city located in the south of the Netherlands. Etymology The city was built on a place where two types of soil meet: sandy soil and marine clay. The sandy soil p ...

. He was educated by the Jesuits, going on to study the Liberal Arts at Louvain University. He was briefly in the service of

Benjamin Aubery du Maurier Benjamin Aubery du Maurier (La Fontaine-Saint-Martin, August 1566 — La Fontaine-Saint-Martin 1636) was a French huguenot statesman and ambassador of his country to the States General of the Dutch Republic during the "Truce Quarrels". He tried ...

, French Ambassador in The Hague, where he became friends with

Daniel Heinsius Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

, writing an

epithalamium An epithalamium (; Latin form of Greek ἐπιθαλάμιον ''epithalamion'' from ἐπί ''epi'' "upon," and θάλαμος ''thalamos'' nuptial chamber) is a poem written specifically for the bride on the way to her marital chamber. This form ...

on his marriage. In 1617 he moved to Paris, entering the household of

Henri de Mesmes Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

. In 1621 he was granted a law degree by the

University of Douai The University of Douai (french: Université de Douai) ( nl, Universiteit van Dowaai) is a former university in Douai, France. With a medieval heritage of scholarly activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started ...

. After 1621 he became an important functionary of the city government of Antwerp. He wrote works on poetry and sciences, one of which treats of

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

. His reputation was known by the Archduchess

Isabella Clara Eugenia Isabella Clara Eugenia ( es, link=no, Isabel Clara Eugenia; 12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia, was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France with ...

and

Emperor Ferdinand III Ferdinand III (Ferdinand Ernest; 13 July 1608, in Graz – 2 April 1657, in Vienna) was from 1621 Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary from 1625, King of Croatia and Bohemia from 1627 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1637 until his death in 1657. Fe ...

Pierre Gassendi Pierre Gassendi (; also Pierre Gassend, Petrus Gassendi; 22 January 1592 – 24 October 1655) was a French philosopher, Catholic priest, astronomer, and mathematician. While he held a church position in south-east France, he also spent much tim ...

's biography of Nicolas Peiresc mentions that in 1620 he consulted Gevartius, "a famous and (if ever any) a true Schollar", about the

Duke of Aarschot The Duke of Aarschot (or ''Aerschot'') was one of the most important aristocratic titles in the Low Countries, named after the Brabantian city of Aarschot. The title was held by the House of Croÿ and the House of Arenberg. The present Duke is Le ...

's cabinet of curiosities. He was appointed councillor of state and

historiographer royal Historiographer Royal is the title of an appointment as official chronicler or historian of a court or monarch. It was initially particularly associated with the French monarchy, where the post existed from at least 1550, but in the later 16th and 1 ...

by both

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 ...

and the

. On 14 May 1625 Gevartius married Marie Haecx in the church of St James in Antwerp. Their son died at the age of 12; their daughter married Charles Sivori, whose father, Anthonie Sivori, served eleven terms as mayor of Antwerp. In 1625, 1627 and 1632 he served as secretary to the Antwerp branch of the

Sodality of Our Lady The Sodality of Our Lady, also known as the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary (in Latin, ''Congregationes seu sodalitates B. Mariæ Virginis''), is a Roman Catholic Marian society founded in 1563 by young Belgian Jesuit Jean Leunis (or Jan) a ...

. He was admitted to citizenship of the city of Antwerp on 11 September 1632. He was a personal friend of Rubens, and had a portrait painted by him and

Paul de Vos Paul de Vos (1591/92, or 1595 in Hulst – 30 June 1678 in Antwerp) was a Flemish Baroque painter who specialized in mainly in compositions of animals, hunting scenes and still lifes. He worked for an elite clientele and was a regular collaborato ...

with a bust of Marcus Aurelius. He took care of

Albert Rubens Albert Rubens (1614–1657), was the eldest son of Peter Paul Rubens and Isabella Brant. His research as a philologist and scholar of antiquity gained him the recognition of fellow scholars throughout Europe. He held an official position in the gov ...

(1614-1657) when his father was on mission of the Archduke. Correspondence between Gevartius and Rubens is conserved in the

Royal Library of Belgium The Royal Library of Belgium (french: Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, abbreviated ''KBR'' and sometimes nicknamed in French or in Dutch) is the national library of Belgium. The library has a history t ...

. He worked together with Rubens and

Theodoor van Thulden Theodoor van Thulden (1606–12 July 1669) was a painter, draughtsman and engraver from 's-Hertogenbosch. He is mainly known for his altarpieces, mythological subjects, allegorical works and portraits. He was active in Antwerp, where he had tra ...

on the ''Pompa introitus honori Serenissimi Principis Ferdinandi Austriaci Hispaniarum Infantis ...''. Gevartius received the

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

in the chapel of the

bishop of Antwerp The Diocese of Antwerp is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. The diocese was restored in 1961. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brus ...

on 8 February 1665. He died in Antwerp on 23 March 1666 and was buried in the Cathedral of Our Lady.P. Rombouts and T. Van Lerius (eds.), ''De Liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche Sint Lucasgilde'' (Antwerp, n.d.), p. 592.

Works

* ''Publii Papinii Statii Opera omnia'', Leiden, 1616 * ''Electorum libri III. In quibus plurima veterum scriptorum loca obscura & controuersa explicantur, illustrantur & emendantur''. Published by Sebastian Cramoy, Paris, 1619 * ''Pompa Introitus Honore ... Ferdinandi Austriaci'',1641 * ''Inscriptiones theatri pacis Hispano-batavicae'', Antwerp, 1648 * ''Inscriptiones honori serenissimi principis, Leopoldi Gulielmi, archiducis Austriae'', Antwerp, 1648 * ''Hymenaeus pacifer; sive theatrum pacis Hispano-gallicae''. Published by

Plantin Press The Plantin Press at Antwerp was one of the focal centers of the fine printed book in the 16th century. History Christophe Plantin (c. 1520–1589) of Touraine was trained as a bookbinder. He fled from Paris where at least one printer had rece ...

, Antwerp, 1661 * ''Monumentum sepulchrale, sive inscriptiones tumuli'', Antwerp, 1666 * ''Votum ad divam virginem aspricollinam sospitatricem, pro salute ac longaevitate serenissimorum principum Alberti et Isabellae''

Studies

A biography of Gevartius by Marcel Hoc was published under the title ''Le déclin de l'humanisme belge: étude sur Jean-Gaspard Gevaerts, philologue et poète (1593-1666)'' (Brussels, Paris and London, 1922).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gevartius, Gaspar 1593 births 1666 deaths Writers from Antwerp Flemish Renaissance humanists Belgian philologists People from Turnhout