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Jan de Momper, also known as Giovanni de Momper (16 August 1614 or 1617 - 1684/1704) was a Flemish landscape painter who, after training in Antwerp, had a successful career in Rome where he worked for an elite clientele. The artist was forgotten until his rediscovery in 1959.Jan de Momper
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History With his highly expressionist landscapes executed with a very free brush the artist occupies a unique position in the artistic panorama of Baroque Rome.
Few details about the life of Jan de Momper are known with certainty. According to Italian sources he was born in Antwerp. This would indicate that he may have been a member of the extensive family de Momper, which specialised in landscape painting. The de Momper family was a prominent family of landscape painters and printmakers, originally from Bruges, which had settled in Antwerp in the 16th century. Some art historian have suggested that he was the Joannes de Momper who was born on 16 August 1614 as the son of the painter Jan de Momper (II) and Elizabeth van Hoeswinckel. Jan de Momper (II) was a brother of the prominent landscape painter Joos de Momper. He is identified by some art historians with the Joannes de Momper who was registered as an embroiderer in 1635 at the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke as a 'wijnmeester', i.e. the son of a member.Ph. Rombouts and Th. van Lerius, De liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche sint Lucasgilde
Volume 2, Antwerp, 1864, p. 70 Jan likely left Antwerp in the late 1630s when the family de Momper's large studio collapsed after the death of Joos de Momper, the leading artist in the family. In the year 1657 the artist was recorded in Rome in connection with a commission to produce 9 landscapes for the prominent Roman
at the Prado Museum In 1661 he was a well-established painter in Rome, as evidenced by a very important order from another distinguished art loving family in Rome, the
Jan de Momper is believed to have joined the Jan de Momper
at Hadrianus
Jan de Momper was linked with the prominent Flemish battle painter Vincent Adriaenssen who was active in Rome. Jan's wife Agnes Vincentii, who died in Rome on 19 April 1684, was Adriaenssen's daughter. Adriaenssen was also his early mentor in Rome.
In 1684 Jan de Momper was recorded as working on the palace of the Chigi family in Ariccia. There is no further sign of life of Jan de Momper after the report on the death of his wife in 1684.
Jan de Momper's name as a painter was virtually lost until the art historian Roberto Longhi brought together a series of landscapes characterized by a strong personality and a remarkable freedom of brush under the notname "Monsù X". From an inscription on the back of one of those canvases, owned by the Chigi family, Longhi was able to identify the anonymous master as Jan de Momper.
Jan de Momper is known for his landscapes depicting coastal and river landscapes populated with contemporary figures and hunting scenes. The landscapes of Jan de Momper are characterized by their singular extravagance. The works are very personal and executed with a great freedom of the brush and with strong contrasts. His compositions reveal a preference for the unfinished. His style demonstrates he was familiar with the landscapes of Rembrandt as will as the late works of
at Wannenes Group
Three of his landscapes are preserved in the Prado, to which they were transferred from the royal collection. The works were inventoried as de Momper but without indicating his first name, which had led to an attribution of the works to the more famous Joos de Momper.Matías Díaz Padrón, ''Dos lienzos de Jan de Momper en colecciones madrileña'', in: Boletín del Seminario de Arte y Arquitectura, vol LII (1986), p. 477 Another landscape attributed to the artist is the ''Grape Harvest'' in the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. This work was originally attributed to an anonymous follower of Goya before it was reattributed to Jan de Momper.
Jan de Momper, also known as Giovanni de Momper (16 August 1614 or 1617 - 1684/1704) was a Flemish landscape painter who, after training in Antwerp, had a successful career in Rome where he worked for an elite clientele. The artist was forgotten until his rediscovery in 1959.Jan de Momperat the Netherlands Institute for Art History With his highly expressionist landscapes executed with a very free brush the artist occupies a unique position in the artistic panorama of Baroque Rome.
Life
Few details about the life of Jan de Momper are known with certainty. According to Italian sources he was born in Antwerp. This would indicate that he may have been a member of the extensive family de Momper, which specialised in landscape painting. The de Momper family was a prominent family of landscape painters and printmakers, originally from Bruges, which had settled in Antwerp in the 16th century. Some art historian have suggested that he was the Joannes de Momper who was born on 16 August 1614 as the son of the painter Jan de Momper (II) and Elizabeth van Hoeswinckel. Jan de Momper (II) was a brother of the prominent landscape painter Joos de Momper. He is identified by some art historians with the Joannes de Momper who was registered as an embroiderer in 1635 at the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke as a 'wijnmeester', i.e. the son of a member.Ph. Rombouts and Th. van Lerius, De liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche sint LucasgildeVolume 2, Antwerp, 1864, p. 70 Jan likely left Antwerp in the late 1630s when the family de Momper's large studio collapsed after the death of Joos de Momper, the leading artist in the family. In the year 1657 the artist was recorded in Rome in connection with a commission to produce 9 landscapes for the prominent Roman
Doria Pamphilj
The House of Pamphili (often with the final ''long i'' orthography, Pamphilj) was one of the papal families deeply entrenched in Catholic Church, Roman and Italian politics of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Later, the Pamphili family line merged w ...
family. Some of his works are still present in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome where the family's large art collection is currently housed.Jan de Momperat the Prado Museum In 1661 he was a well-established painter in Rome, as evidenced by a very important order from another distinguished art loving family in Rome, the
Chigi family
The House of Chigi () is an Italian princely family of Sienese origin descended from the counts of Ardenghesca, which possessed castles in the Maremma, southern Tuscany. Later, the family settled in Rome. The earliest authentic mention of th ...
. He had very likely already been working in Rome well before the first records of his presence in the city.
Jan de Momper is believed to have 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 organization of mainly Flemish and Dutch painters active in Rome. It was the custom of the Bentvueghels to adopt a nickname, the so-called bent name, at the time a member was admitted. The bent name of Jan de Momper was 'Eervrucht' ('Fruit of Honour').at Hadrianus
Work
Jan de Momper's name as a painter was virtually lost until the art historian Roberto Longhi brought together a series of landscapes characterized by a strong personality and a remarkable freedom of brush under the notname "Monsù X". From an inscription on the back of one of those canvases, owned by the Chigi family, Longhi was able to identify the anonymous master as Jan de Momper.
Jan de Momper is known for his landscapes depicting coastal and river landscapes populated with contemporary figures and hunting scenes. The landscapes of Jan de Momper are characterized by their singular extravagance. The works are very personal and executed with a great freedom of the brush and with strong contrasts. His compositions reveal a preference for the unfinished. His style demonstrates he was familiar with the landscapes of Rembrandt as will as the late works of Salvator Rosa
Salvator Rosa (1615 –1673) is best known today as an Italian Baroque painter, whose romanticized landscapes and history paintings, often set in dark and untamed nature, exerted considerable influence from the 17th century into the early 19th ...
. The freedom of his brushwork explains why some of his works have in the past been attributed to Goya or a follower of Goya and Alessandro Magnasco. Some of his views also call to mind Claude Lorrain
Claude Lorrain (; born Claude Gellée , called ''le Lorrain'' in French; traditionally just Claude in English; c. 1600 – 23 November 1682) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque era. He spent most of his life in It ...
's landscapes. The expressionistic talent of Jan de Momper made him a unique case in the artistic panorama of Baroque Rome.Jan de Momperat Wannenes Group
Three of his landscapes are preserved in the Prado, to which they were transferred from the royal collection. The works were inventoried as de Momper but without indicating his first name, which had led to an attribution of the works to the more famous Joos de Momper.Matías Díaz Padrón, ''Dos lienzos de Jan de Momper en colecciones madrileña'', in: Boletín del Seminario de Arte y Arquitectura, vol LII (1986), p. 477 Another landscape attributed to the artist is the ''Grape Harvest'' in the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. This work was originally attributed to an anonymous follower of Goya before it was reattributed to Jan de Momper.
References
External links
* {{ACArt 1614 births Flemish landscape painters Flemish Baroque painters Painters from Antwerp