Mattheus Ignatius van Bree (

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,

, 1773 – Antwerp, 1839) was a Belgian

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. He was one of the founders of the historical school of painting in Belgium and played an important role as a teacher in the development of 19th-century Belgian art.G. Jansen. "Van Brée."
Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.

Biography

He was first trained from the age of 10 in the local art academy. One of his teachers was Petrus Johannes van Regemorter. He became assistant-professor at the Academy and got his own studio in 1794. He left for Paris in 1797 where he studied with

François-André Vincent François-André Vincent (; 30 December 1746 – 4 August 1816) was a French neoclassical painter. Biography Vincent was born in Paris in 1746, the son of the miniaturist François-Elie Vincent. He studied under Joseph-Marie Vien and was ...

. He participated that year in the Paris Salon and won second prize in the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

with his painting ''The death of Cato in Utica''. SA 471-De intocht van Napoleon te Amsterdam, 9 oktober 1811

He returned to Antwerp in 1804 and became a professor at the Antwerp Academy which had just been reopened after its closure by the French occupiers. Van Bree was after the end of French occupation in 1813 a member of the commission responsible for recovering works of art confiscated by the French and was able to retrieve many works by

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 ...

. In 1821 he traveled to Italy and visited Florence and Rome with his former pupil

Ferdinand de Braekeleer the Elder Ferdinand de Braekeleer (Antwerp, 12 February 1792 – Antwerp, 16 May 1883), sometimes spelled as Ferdinand de Braeckeleer, was a Flanders, Flemish painter and printmaker.

. In Florence he made in the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

drawings after portraits by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

and

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

. In the same year he also published his views on art in ''Leçons de dessin'' (Drawing lessons). In 1827 he became director of the Antwerp Academy after the resignation of

Willem Jacob Herreyns Willem Jacob HerreynsName variations: Guillaume Jacques Herreyns, Willem Jacob Herreijns, Willem Jacob Herrijns, Willem Jacob Herryns, Guillaume Jacques Herreijns (Antwerp, 10 June 1743 – Antwerp, 10 August 1827) was a Flemish painter of histor ...

. He was a member of several overseas art institutions such as the academies of Amsterdam, Rome, Munich and New York. He trained some of the eminent painters of the next generation such as

Egide Charles Gustave Wappers Egide Charles Gustave, Baron Wappers (23 August 18036 December 1874) was a Belgian painter. His work is generally considered to be Flemish painters, Flemish and he signed his work with the Dutch form of his name, Gustaaf Wappers.Note: The painte ...

Nicaise de Keyser Nicaise de Keyser (alternative first names: Nicaas, Nikaas of Nicasius; 26 August 1813, Zandvliet – 17 July 1887, Antwerp) was a Belgian painter of mainly history paintings and portraits who was one of the key figures in the Belgian Romantic- ...

Jan August Hendrik Leys Henri Leys, Hendrik Leys or Jan August Hendrik, Baron Leys (18 February 1815 – 26 August 1869) was a Belgian painter and printmaker. He was a leading representative of the historical or Romantic school in Belgian art and became a pioneer of th ...

Antoine Wiertz Antoine Joseph Wiertz (22 February 1806 – 18 June 1865) was a Belgian painter, sculptor, lithographer and art writer. He is known for his religious, historical, and allegorical works and portraits. He was an eccentric figure who originally was ...

Jules Victor Génisson Jules Victor Génisson (; 24 February 1805 - 10 October 1860) was a Belgian painter, chiefly known for his architectural painting. Biography Born in Saint-Omer, in Northern France, in 1805, he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp), ...

and Ferdinand de Braekeleer the Elder in whom he instilled his admiration for the masters of the Flemish school, and in particular, Rubens and

van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

Egide Linnig Egide Linnig or Egidius Linnig (25 August 1821 – 13 October 1860) was a Belgians, Belgian painter, draughtsman and engraver who is best known for his marine art and occasional genre scenes. He was one of the first realist engravers in Belgium ...

who studied under van Bree was not happy with the emphasis placed on history painting by van Bree.N. Hostyn, "LINNIG, Egide, marineschilder en scheepsportrettist", in ''Nationaal biografisch woordenboek'', (1970), IX 481-486

Work

Initially starting out in a French neo-classical style with themes inspired by Antiquity, he changed after the expulsion of the French in 1813 to painting historical pictures based on Dutch and Flemish history. His style also became more reminiscent of Rubens in its use of looser brushwork and a warmer palette. His historical paintings were often of large dimensions and earned him a high reputation in his lifetime. He also painted more small-scale and colourful oil sketches and it is these works that are now most esteemed. He also made a few sculptures. Among his most important works are ''The Patriotism of the Burgomaster Van der Werft'', in the city hall of

Leyden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

, and ''The Death of Rubens'', in the

Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (Dutch: ''Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen'', ''KMSKA'') is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium, founded in 1810, that houses a collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings from the fourteenth t ...

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bree, Mattheus Ignatius 1773 births 1839 deaths 19th-century Flemish painters Academic staff of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp)