Mattheus van Helmont (1623 – after 1679) was a Flemish painter specialized in

genre scenes Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...

of interiors and village scenes. His style and subject matter were influenced by the work of David Teniers the Younger and

Adriaen Brouwer Adriaen Brouwer (, in Oudenaarde – January 1638, in Antwerp) was a Flemish painter active in Flanders and the Dutch Republic in the first half of the 17th century.

. His preferred subjects were peasant feasts, wedding celebrations, drinkers and alchemists. He developed his own personal style towards the final phase of his career. He spent most of his active life in Antwerp but moved to Brussels later.Mattheus van Helmont
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 ...

Life

Mattheus van Helmont was born in Antwerp as the son of Mattheus van Helmont and Elisabeth Cremers. He was baptised in the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

of Antwerp on 24 July 1623.Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden, ''Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool'', Antwerpen, 1883, pp. 1022–1023 Mattheus first joined 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 ...

as the son of a master and in 1645 he became a full master in the Guild.Mattheus van Helmont, ''A young fiddler making music''
at Christie’s His paintings of Italianizing market scenes and fairs suggest that he possibly visited Italy but there is no documentary evidence to corroborate such trip.Mattheus van Helmont, ''The Liberation of Saint Peter''
at Colnaghi Old Masters He joined the Brussels Guild of Saint Luke in 1674. On 17 August 1647 he married Margaratha Verstock. The couple had four sons, of whom two –

Jan Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

and Gaspard – trained with their father and became painters. Jan became a portrait painter. Gaspard entered the Antwerp Guild in 1679 as a portrait painter but did not leave any known work. The family lived in the Lange Nieuwstraat in Antwerp. Mattheus van Helmont - Drinker with a stoneware pitcher and a smoker with a pipe

Mattheus van Helmont - Drinker with a stoneware pitcher and a smoker with a pipe

He had a large output but got into debt, supposedly due to his unruly character and frequent involvement in brawls. This caused him to leave Antwerp and settle in Brussels in 1674. He was forced to leave many paintings with his creditors in Antwerp. He likely remained the remainder of his life in Brussels where he died some time between 1679 and 1699.

Work

General

Mattheus van Helmont is known for his large output, which is generally signed or monogrammed, but rarely dated. His known works can be dated to the period from 1638 to 1670. He was a genre painter and specialised in painting interior scenes with peasants, alchemists and craftsmen at work, tavern interiors, village scenes, market scenes and kermesses. He also painted some still lifes. He is reported to have painted

singerie ''Singerie'' is the name given to a visual arts genre depicting monkeys imitating human behavior, often fashionably attired, intended as a diverting sight, always with a gentle cast of mild satire. The term is derived from the French word for "Mo ...

s, a genre popularized by David Teniers the Younger and depicting monkeys appearing in human attire and a human environment. However, there exist no firm attributions to van Helmont of works in this genre.Bert Schepers, ''La folie des singes à Anvers au XVIIe siècle''
in: Les Collections de la République des Lettres, 2019, Marie Grappasonni, pp. 153-172 He may have produced 'guardroom scenes', i.e. scenes depicting an interior scene with officers and soldiers engaged in merrymaking. However, the '' Guardroom with the Release of St. Peter'' (Sold at Colnaghi Old Masters), formerly attributed to him has now been re-attributed to a follower of David Teniers the Younger. Whereas most of his village scenes depict Flemish villages, he also painted scenes of Italian-looking villages and towns such as the ''Market scene in an imaginary Italian town''. He is known to have contributed

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 ...

for the landscapes of Jacques d'Arthois. Mattheus van Helmont The Alchemist fa 2000 001 j67314356

Van Helmont was stylistically and thematically influenced by Adriaen Brouwer,

David Ryckaert III David Ryckaert III, David Rijckaert III or David Rijckaert the Younger (2 December 1612, Antwerp - 11 November 1661, Antwerp)Mattheus van Helmont, ''The Temptation of Saint Anthony''
at Sotheby’s

Alchemists at work

Another popular genre scene which van Helmont painted was the alchemist at work. This was also a theme that was popularised by Teniers. Alchemists and artists had much in common, including the grinding and mixture of chemicals which artists used for pigments. This is shown in van Helmont's ''The Alchemist'' (

Science History Institute The Science History Institute is an institution that preserves and promotes understanding of the history of science. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it includes a library, museum, archive, research center and conference center. It was f ...

). Many of the objects found in the alchemist's rooms might also be found in an artist's studio. The

écorché An ''écorché'' () is a figure drawn, painted, or sculpted showing the muscles of the body without skin, normally as a figure study for another work or as an exercise for a student artist. The Renaissance-era architect, theorist and all-around R ...

plaster sculpture on the desk shows muscle groups under the skin, of use to artists and also to alchemists interested in physical health. The violin, symbolic of inspiration, is often shown in paintings of painters' studios, but its meaning could apply equally well to alchemists. Books, glassware, a human skull, distillation apparatus, and the furnaces in the painting are all part of the productive clutter of equipment in a busy alchemist's shop.

The Temptation of Saint Anthony

Van Helmont produced multiple versions of ''The Temptation of Saint Anthony''. This subject was very popular in Flemish art from the late 15th century. Catholics regard Saint Anthony as a model to be emulated as he is believed to have resisted multiple temptations sent to him by the devil. Flemish paintings dealing with the theme of the temptation of Saint Anthony are typically populated with witches and monstrous creatures that tempt him. In the 17th century David Teniers the Younger and his brother

Abraham Teniers Abraham Teniers (1 March 1629 – 26 September 1670) was a Flemish painter and engraver who specialized in genre paintings of villages, inns and monkey scenes. He was a member of artist family Teniers which came to prominence in the 17th century. ...

often returned to the theme. A composition of '' The Temptation of Saint Anthony'' sold at Sotheby’s (7 May 2008 in Amsterdam, lot 24) shows Saint Anthony kneeling in front of a block of stone resembling an altar on which several religious objects are placed. While David Teniers humanized his witches and creatures in appearance as well as behaviour, van Helmont seems to continue the 16th-century tradition of emphasising their monstrosity. Van Helmont also elected to give the role of female temptress to a highly seductive, bare-breasted woman unlike Teniers who opted for a beautiful but decently dressed young woman.Mattheus van Helmont, ''The Temptation of Saint Anthony''
at Sotheby’s

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helmont, Mattheus van Flemish Baroque painters Artists from Antwerp Flemish genre painters Flemish still life painters Painters from Antwerp 1623 births 1685 deaths