Jacob Leyssens (Lyssens) - Carcass in a Kitchen

Jacob Leyssens or Jacob Lyssens (nickname Notenkraker) (1661,

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,

- 1710, 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 and decorator. After training in Antwerp, he spent a long time in Rome. After his return to Antwerp, he was active as a painter and decorator and collaborated with prominent Antwerp still life painters such as

Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen the Younger Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen or Gasparo Pedro Verbruggen (baptized on 11 April 1664 in Antwerp – buried on 14 March 1730 in Antwerp) was a Flemish still life painter who is principally known for his decorative still lifes with flowers and fruit. ...

and

Jan Baptist Bosschaert Jan Baptist Bosschaert or Jan Baptist Bosschaert the Younger (baptized on 17 December 1667 in Antwerp − 1746 in Antwerp) was a Flemish still life painter who is principally known for his decorative still lifes with flowers. He collaborated wi ...

.Jacob Leyssens
in: Jacob Campo Weyerman, ''De levensbeschryvingen van Nederlandsche konstschilders en konstschilderessen'' (1729–1769)

Life

He was born in Antwerp in 1661 as the son of Jacobus and Anthonetta Sas.''1561 LEYSSENS, Jacobus van'' in: Godelieve van Hemeldonck, ''Kunst en kunstenaars'', s.p.: s.n. (2007), type script kept in the Felixarchief in Antwerp He was registered as a pupil of

Peter Ykens Peter Ykens (1648 – 1695), was a Flemish painter mainly known for his history paintings and portraits. He regularly collaborated with specialist still painters and landscape artists for whose works he provided the staffage.< ...

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 1674.Ph. Rombouts and Th. van Lerius (ed.), ''De liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche sint Lucasgilde''
Volume 2, Antwerp, 1864, pp. 439, 441, 609, 613, 615 He travelled to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

at a young age as he is mentioned there in 1680.Jacob Leyssens
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 ...

He became a member of 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, with the nickname ‘Notenkraker’ (Nutcracker). He was probably one of the youngest Bentvueghels ever admitted.Jacob Leyssens
at Hadrianus The difficult financial situation of his father caused him to return to Antwerp in 1689.Jacob Leyssens
in Van der Aa e.a., Biographisch Woordenboek der Nederlanden He was admitted as a 'wijnmeester' (wine master) to the Antwerp

in the guild year 1698-1699. As this is a title reserved for the sons of members of the Guild, it demonstrates that his father was or had been also a member of the Guild. In the year in which he became a master he also recceived Jan Baptist Bellenraet as a pupil. Jacob Leyssens - Joseph and the child Jesus (cropped)

Jacob Leyssens - Joseph and the child Jesus (cropped)

He was active in Antwerp as a painter and decorator in the period 1698–1710. He made a will on 31 January 1706 as he was ill. He lived at the time with his father in Hopland in Antwerp.

Work

Only a few of his works are known, one of which is in the collection of the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. He decorated many rooms and ceilings in prominent residences and buildings in Antwerp. He is known to have collaborated as a

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 ...

painter with other artists such as

and

, who painted the flowers and fruits. The early Dutch biographer

Jacob Campo Weyerman Jacob Campo Weyerman (9 August 1677 – 9 March 1747) was a painter and writer during the period known as the Dutch Enlightenment. His work encompassed flower and fruit still life paintings, satirical magazines, plays, and biographies of painter ...

referred to Jacob Leyssens as a

history painter History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

, which indicates that he painted in this genre. A religious painting entitled ''St. Joseph with the Child Jesus'' was listed in the inventory on the death of J.J. Moretus and was made over to the city of Antwerp in 1876 when the Plantin-Moretus printing company was sold to the city. Leon Voet, The Golden Compasses. The History of the House of Plantin-Moretus
Vangendt & Co, Amsterdam / Routledge & Kegan Paul, London / Abner Schram, New York 1969–1972

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leyssens, Jacob Flemish Baroque painters Flemish history painters Flemish genre painters 17th-century births Members of the Bentvueghels Painters from Antwerp 1710 deaths