Flemish Renaissance painter
Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting represents the 16th-century response to Italian Renaissance art in the Low Countries. These artists, who span from the Antwerp Mannerists and Hieronymus Bosch at the start of the 16th century to the late No ...
, draftsman, engineer and cartographer who was active in
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
during the 16th century. He is known primarily for his religious and portrait paintings.Pieter Pourbus 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
Birth and origin
Pieter Pourbus was born in Gouda in 1523 or 1524. He moved to Bruges at the age of 20. Very little is known of his childhood and youth while living in Gouda; contemporary artists such as
Karel Van Mander
Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander I (May 1548 – 2 September 1606) was a Flemish painter, poet, art historian and art theoretician, who established himself in the Dutch Republic in the latter part of his life. He is mainly remembe ...
only make a brief mention of his origins in the city.
Early years in Gouda
His first biography was written by contemporary artist biographer
Karel van Mander
Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander I (May 1548 – 2 September 1606) was a Flemish painter, poet, art historian and art theoretician, who established himself in the Dutch Republic in the latter part of his life. He is mainly remembe ...
in his renowned ''
Schilder-boeck
or is a book written by the Flemish writer and painter Karel van Mander first published in 1604 in Haarlem in the Dutch Republic, where van Mander resided. The book is written in 17th-century Dutch and its title is commonly translated into Engl ...
'' (''Book of Painters'') of 1604, starting: "(...) I would not like to conceal any of the most special. That is why I wish to present Pieter Pourbus". Van Mander remembers him as "the painter of Bruges". The two met in 1580, when Van Mander fled the ravages of the
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
and stayed in Bruges for a time.Huvenne, in: de Beyer & de Fauw (2018), §1 page 9 Pourbus must have overwhelmed Van Mander with information about all of the sights of Bruges at that time, as he was the source for most of the information Van Mander provides regarding the Bruges school of painting.
At the time, Pourbus was not considered a native in Bruges itself. When he registered as a master painter with the guild of Sculptors and Saddlers in 1543 as "Pieter Jansyns Poerbus", he is noted as a "stranger" ('vrymde') in the records. He was 19 or 20 years old at the time, based on the mentions of his age in a number of documents. From there, we can deduce that he must have been born in 1523 or 1524. At the occasion of the exhibition on Pieter Pourbus at the Museum Gouda in 2018, Paul Abels wrote in the catalogue of this exhibition about the role Gouda played in his life by putting what little is known about his ties to the city in the context of late-medieval religious and social life in Gouda.
Abels has mentioned that the name 'Pourbus' features several times in Gouda at the start of the sixteenth century, but he adds that there is only one person in the Gouda city archives, a man named Jan Pieterssoen Pourbus, who could actually qualify as Pourbus' father. City accounts mention a payment made to him for "painting the board that stands in front of the window" in 1529. The mention is brief, but it corroborates Van Mander's claim about Pourbus' Gouda roots by another contemporary source. In addition, this source shows that his father was also a painter, although it is not possible to know what his real artistic skills were. The mention most likely refers to painting the town's coat of arms on a shutter.
From Gouda to Bruges
Pourbus' moved to Bruges, perhaps because Bruges was known to be a city that produces excellent painting, although that reputation was waning when Pourbus arrived.
Bruges was familiar territory for Gouda residents. Pourbus would have heard many stories about the city of Bruges when growing up. The two cities were closely connected by the beer trade, which was the leading line of business in Gouda at the time. Before he went to Bruges, he may have studied his craft with Utrecht-based painters such as
Jan van Scorel
Jan van Scorel (1 August 1495 – 6 December 1562) was a Dutch painter, who played a leading role in introducing aspects of Italian Renaissance painting into Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting. He was one of the early painters of the Ro ...
or the Leiden masters. Recent technical research suggests Leiden, more so than Utrecht.Abels, in: de Beyer & de Fauw (2018), page 34, §2Lucas van Leyden and
Cornelis Engelbrechtsz
Cornelis Engebrechtsz., also known as Cornelis Engelbrechtsz. (c.1462–1527) was an early Dutch painter. He was born and died in Leiden, and is considered the first important painter from that city.
passed away when Pourbus was still a child, but he may have come into contact with Engelbrechtsz's three sons, Cornelis, Lucas, and
Pieter Cornelisz Kunst
Pieter Cornelisz Kunst (1484–1490, Leiden – 1560–1561, Leiden), was a Dutch Renaissance painter.
Biography
Kunst was one of the three sons of the painter Cornelis Engebrechtsz who became a painter and glass painter (engraver). His brothe ...
, who followed in their father's footsteps and became painters in their own right.
Pourbus in Bruges
Shortly after he registered with the Bruges
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 ...
, Pieter Pourbus married Anna, the youngest daughter of painter
Lancelot Blondeel
Lancelot Blondeel, also Lanceloot (1498 – 4 March 1561), was a Flemish painter, designer of sculptures, tapestries and jewelry, architect, city planner, surveyor and cartographer who was active in Bruges.'the Elder'), was born, who later became a prominent artist in his own right.
Pourbus became a member of the Crossbowmen's Guild of St George and often visited the rhetorician meetings organised by the Chamber of the Holy Spirit. Blondeel, who was a well-respected person there, may have introduced him. Otherwise, very few concrete details of Pourbus' first few years in Bruges are known. It would appear that he initially operated as a student of Blondeel.Huvenne, in: de Beyer & de Fauw (2018), §.1 page 11
Working in Blondeel's studio
It remains unclear in some cases whether paintings from this period were the result of collaboration between Pourbus and Blondeel, or whether they were painted by Pourbus alone. An example of this is the painting ''The Seven Joys of the Virgin'' (c.1546), which today hangs in the
Tournai Cathedral
The Tournai Cathedral, or Cathedral of Our Lady (french: Notre-Dame de Tournai, nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Doornik), is a Roman Catholic church, see of the Diocese of Tournai in Tournai, Belgium. It has been classified both as a Wallonia's majo ...
Pourbus' smaller work ''The Last Supper'' indicates that his father-in-law also introduced him to the ' Rederijker' or rhetorician circles of amateur poets and reciting artists. It depicts the Last Supper as described in the Refrains of the rhetorician Edward dan Dene. The idea that this painting was inspired to Pourbus by the rhetoricians plays was confirmed when the smaller ''Last Supper'' from 1548 surfaced in 2000 and could be linked by Samuel Mareel to the Chamber of the Holy Spirit. The iconography is also noticeable, with the figure of a devil entering the room on the right of the painting.
Pieter Pourbus - Last Supper - WGA18255.jpg, ''The Last Supper'' (inscription above the door jamb: 1548), 46.5 × 63 cm, Groeningemuseum, Bruges
Pieter Pourbus - Allegory of true love.jpg, ''Allegory of True Love'' (1547)
Another work that dates back to Pourbus' early years in Bruges is his only remaining non-religious history work, ''An Allegory of True Love'', currently part of the
Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along w ...
in London. This work shows also how Pourbus style is truly innovative for his time.
His
triptych
A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...
''The Baptism of Christ'', which dates back to 1549 and now hangs in the
Museo del Prado
The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...
in Madrid, is one of the most famous examples of his early work.
Independent work
In 1549, Pourbus' name started to appear in a number of historical documents; he was named yearly, and sometimes even daily, in many official sources. During this period he received many notable commissions from the
Brugse Vrije
The Brugse Vrije was a castellany in the county of Flanders, often called in English "the Franc of Bruges". It included the area around Bruges, and was bordered by the North Sea, the Westerschelde and the Yser river. The city of Bruges was separa ...
, such as the decorations for the
Joyous Entry
A Joyous Entry ( nl, Blijde Intrede, Blijde Inkomst, or ; ) is the official name used for the ceremonial royal entry, the first official peaceable visit of a reigning monarch, prince, duke or governor into a city, mainly in the Duchy of Braban ...
of
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
and
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
in 1549 ('Blijde intocht van Karel V en prins Filips in 1549'), a drawing for a new banquet hall, and the ''Last Judgment'' (''Laatste Oordeel'').Huvenne, in: de Beyer & de Fauw (2018), §.2-page 13 Another prominent commission was his works for the mausoleum of Margaret of Austria at the Annunciation Convent in Bruges, parts of a commission Blondeel received in 1550 comprising a sculpted mausoleum, stained glass windows and paintwork. Among the paint works, Pourbus painted the Annunciation currently displayed at Museum Gouda. He also realised the drawings for the stained glass windows.
Pourbus gradually became a popular portrait painter among the upper class, such as wine merchant Jan van Eyewerve and his wife Jacquemyne Buuck. In addition, Pourbus began to expressly date and sign his works in this period, indicative of the rise in his reputation and his growing artistic independence.
Active Guild member
Around 1551, Pourbus became a prominent and active member of the council of the local Guild of St. Luke. He served two terms as dean of the guild and five terms as sworn elder. As an elder, he participated in quality checks on fellow guild members; for instance, he visited Simon Puseel in response to the latter's poor performance in gilding the dome of the Jerusalem Chapel in Bruges. As a dean, he acted to prevent paintings from Dordrecht being sold inside the city walls. He also defended the guild's interests several times in the leasing of land it owned in the province of Zeeland. Pourbus was also a very active member of the Bruges Guild of Sculptors and Saddlers.
All these works paid off. In 1552, Pourbus bought the "Huis Rome" (the house called "Rome") on the Jan Miraelstraat, where he set up his own painting studio. Van Mander later wrote that Pourbus set up the best paint shop he had ever seen there.
An important cartographic activity
Pourbus produced many topographic maps during this period, which were intended to support surveyors' legal reports. He started to use a new methodology based on
triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points.
Applications
In surveying
Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle me ...
, according to the principles developed by his contemporary
Gemma Frisius
Gemma Frisius (; born Jemme Reinerszoon; December 9, 1508 – May 25, 1555) was a Frisian physician, mathematician, cartographer, philosopher, and instrument maker. He created important globes, improved the mathematical instruments of his d ...
, which resulted in more accurate and very modern maps. It is not known exactly how Pourbus obtained this knowledge, but it is known that his father-in-law, Blondeel, was also a cartographer, and that his 1549 map of the canal between Damme and Sluis indicates that he was probably already using this new technique at that time, constituting a great innovative movement in the 1540s in Bruges.
By decision of 13 December 1561, the Liberty of Bruges granted him the order for the large map that Pourbus then produced for several years. The order is well documented in the archives of the city, throughout the years of its execution, and every year, where he regularly reported on his work. He received numerous advances of money, and still in 1567–1568. He finished this large work in 1571.
Pourbus as an established artist
''Portrait of a Noble Young Lady'' and other portraits
During this period Pourbus became notable for his portraits of nobility and wealthy merchants. Pourbus' ''Portrait of a Noble Young Lady'' (1554) is considered by many art historians, such as Paul Huvenne, former Director of 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 ...
, to be one of the best examples of his portraiture.
Her dress and its distinctive lace collar allowed Huvenne, who discovered this painting, to date the portrait as having been painted before 1560. An IR examination conducted before the exhibition in Bruges in 2017 revealed that the portrait was done by Pourbus in 1554.
Pourbus was also known for group portraits, such as the wing-panels with portraits of the Members of the Noble Confraternity of the Holy Blood and the Sacra Confrerie of St. Salvator's Cathedral. The position of the sitters in these portraits suggest that Pourbus was influenced by the work of Utrecht-based painter
Jan van Scorel
Jan van Scorel (1 August 1495 – 6 December 1562) was a Dutch painter, who played a leading role in introducing aspects of Italian Renaissance painting into Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting. He was one of the early painters of the Ro ...
.
Religious paintings
Pourbus followed up on his ''Last Judgment'' and the ''Annunciation'' with the smaller ''Crucifixion'' in 1557.
However, the ''Van Belle triptych'' (1556) is one of the most famous of his religious works and is often considered by art historians to be an important milestone in his career. An original design drawing of the painting contains handwritten comments, in which the artist agrees to portray
the Madonna
In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...
not with clenched hands but in a more resigned posture: with the arms pressed crosswise over one another. The theme of
Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...
was a popular subject of paintings in the Renaissance, and the unusual posture was perhaps an attempt to distinguish the painting from the many other depictions of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
at the time. The ''Van Belle triptych'' was partially influenced by the statue of the Madonna with Child by Michelangelo at the Church of Our Lady in Bruges.
Pourbus' 1558 ''
Pietà
The Pietà (; meaning " pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form ...
'' at the Église Saint-Maurice in Annecy and his ''Adoration of the Golden Calf'', painted around 1559, are also examples of his many religious works.
Pourbus and his painting style soon became the leading representative of the Italian
High Renaissance
In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...
as propagated in
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,
by
Frans Floris
Frans Floris, Frans Floris the Elder or Frans Floris de Vriendt (17 April 15191 October 1570) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, print artist and tapestry designer. He is mainly known for his history paintings, allegorical scenes and portraits.< ...
. One example of this style is the
grotesque
Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...
s in which he depicted the portraits of Ghuyse-Van Male and his wife. At this point, Pourbus' work featured more translucent brushwork and a clear composition style. These aspects are evident in the ''Van Belle triptych'', in which he paraphrases the composition of Jan van Eyck's ''The Virgin and Child with Canon Van der Paele'' from 1434. Pourbus began to gain a reputation in Bruges for his artwork and innovation; the Italian
Ludovico Guicciardini
Lodovico Guicciardini (19 August 1521 – 22 March 1589) was an Italian writer and merchant from Florence who lived primarily in Antwerp from 1542 or earlier. He was the nephew of historian and diplomat Francesco Guicciardini.
''Description of ...
names him as one of the most important painters of his time in his ''Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi'' or ''Description of all the Low Countries'' in 1567.
Influence and fame
Blondeel passed away in 1561, and Pourbus soon surpassed him in fame. In the years that followed, he taught many apprentices, including his son and Antonius Claeissens.
One of his most well-known paintings from this period is his ''Portrait of a Woman with Unknown Coat of Arms'' (1565). In spite of the coat of arms, the subject of the painting has not yet been identified. It has been suggested that she might be part of the De Grave family, who were originally from Flanders but settled in
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
. The painting was often taken to be a portrait of
Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...
for much of the nineteenth century. Scholars have noted the painting's smooth, enamel-like stylisation, and the woman's introverted and enigmatic quality. This is reminiscent of Guicciardini's assertions that in Bruges, "Women are as beautiful, charming, modest and temperate as in any town in these lands".
In 1567, Pourbus produced a portrait of Knight François van der Straten, a leading authority in the Liberty of Bruges and an academically trained lawyer. He drew inspiration from an allegorical print by Cornelis Theunisz from 1537 in which a child, an hourglass, and a skull reflect the theme of the transience of life in a similar matter to the portrait.
The motto on his coat of arms, "Absit gloria" ("Reject glory"), also reflects the notion of
vanitas
A ''vanitas'' (Latin for 'vanity') is a symbolic work of art showing the temporality, transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, often contrasting symbols of wealth and symbols of ephemerality and death. Best-kn ...
. The text that he points out on the note beneath his hand reads "Cognitio Dei et natvrae rationalis", which can be translated as "Knowledge of God and reasonable nature". Both inscriptions are a reflection of the
Renaissance humanist
Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...
values of rationality, religion, and the worth of education, values that were then becoming dominant among the Northern European upper classes.
In the same year, he also painted the portrait of Pieter de Corte, the newly appointed bishop of the recently created bishopric of Bruges. De Corte was appointed by
King Philip II of Spain
Philip II) in Spain, while in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, K ...
; the prestige of such a commission indicates the high status that Pourbus had accrued by this time.
His ''Portrait of Juan Lopez Gallo and His Three Sons'' (1568) reflects both Pourbus' artistic style and the strength of his ties to the Spanish upper class. There, Pourbus dealt with his clients' differing customs by adjusting the size of his
retable
A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate structur ...
s to suit the size of altar that was customary in Spain at the time. Sometimes, he left the actual execution of paintings for his more distant clients to
atelier
An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...
staff, as shown in his ''Mount at Calvary'' in the Cathedral of San Pedro of Soria.
Later years and death
The 1570s
After the enormous effort of the Great Map, Pourbus once again was able to take on regular commissions. During this time, his students began to leave his studio and become independent painters; Pourbus' son
Frans
Frans is an Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish given name, sometimes as a short form of ''François''. One cognate of Frans in English is ''Francis''.
Given name
* Frans van Aarssens (1572–1641), Dutch diplomat ...
left for Antwerp in 1569 to make his fortune as a painter there, and Antonius Claeissens became the official city painter of Bruges in 1570. In addition, his style changed slightly during this period. His brushwork in these works and others of this period became less transparent and more enamel-like. This is seen in his portrait of Olivier Van Nieulant, which is now 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 ...
. His change in style has been noted by scholars to lend a cooler appearance and a more classicist quality to his work, but also makes his subjects more rigid in appearance.
This shift is also apparent in his history paintings, such as the ''Altarpiece of St. Hubert'', painted before 1572. Pourbus was greatly influenced by the artistic tradition of the Italian Renaissance, of which the ''Altarpiece'' is a prime example. It is remarkable how well Pourbus is able to focus his compositions or inventions on the Italian Renaissance idiom, given that he has never been to Italy.
This painting, part of an altarpiece whose other shutters are lost, is also sometimes called "Baptism of Saint Eustace". The legends of these two saints,
Saint Hubert
Hubertus or Hubert ( 656 – 30 May 727 A.D.) was a Christian saint who became the first bishop of Liège in 708 A.D. He is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers. Known as the "Apostle of the Ardennes", he w ...
(or Hubert de Liège) and Saint Eustache (or Eustache de Rome) are indeed very close. A very detailed study on this painting and the questions it poses was published during the Gouda exhibition in 2018 by Josephina de Fouw.
This altarpiece was praised as the best work of Pourbus by van Mander, who speaks of it as "a beautiful temple, with the perspective very well done".
Usually, Pourbus drew his inspiration from artists of the Renaissance, such as Dürer,
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 ...
, and
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
. For example, he drew strongly on Titian for the middle panel of the Damhouder Triptych at the Church of Our Lady in Bruges.
As a well-established painter, Pourbus was occasionally seen as too expensive during this period. For example, in autumn of 1571, he created a design for an altarpiece for the Church of Our Lady in Damme, but a different, cheaper painter, Jacob van den Coornhuuse, was commissioned to do the work instead.
Pourbus' studio continued to operate throughout the 1570s. Among others, he worked in close collaboration with Antonius Claeissens, who was influenced by Pourbus' style more than anyone else in Bruges in the early years of his career. The spectacular piece ''Lamentation'', one of the highlights of the exhibition at Museum Gouda in 2018, was the result of an intensive collaboration between the two.
Eighty Years' War and aftermath
In 1578, a Protestant military force took over Bruges.(For more information on the expansion of Protestants at the time, read on the
Dutch Revolt
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...
and the
Pacification of Ghent
The Pacification of Ghent, signed on 8 November 1576, was an alliance between the provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands. The main objectives were to remove Habsburg Spain, Spanish mercenaries who had made themselves hated by all sides due to their ...
) There was little resistance to the invasion, and the city became a Calvinist republic.
Once the threat of war increased after the
Pacification of Ghent
The Pacification of Ghent, signed on 8 November 1576, was an alliance between the provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands. The main objectives were to remove Habsburg Spain, Spanish mercenaries who had made themselves hated by all sides due to their ...
failed, the city's magistrate repeatedly asked Pourbus for his advice on building the city's defenses. His knowledge of water management, for instance, could have been of use in flooding certain areas as a defensive manoeuvre.
Even after the change in power that followed the city's capture in 1578, Pourbus continued to serve the now Protestant city authorities and enjoyed the confidence of the new government. For example, he was appointed head of his district in Sint-Nicolaas-Zestendeel in December 1580. This may indicate that he converted to Calvinism, like his son. His switch from Catholicism to Calvinism would mean that Pourbus became more intimately entwined with the Protestant upper class; he had already painted the portraits of various prominent Protestants in previous years, such as the wartime mayor Jan Wyts and Calvinist leaders such as Pieter Dominicle.
His epitaph for the Catholic Zeghere van Male, a rich merchant also known for a famous song book, probably dates back to 1578, before the invasion of Protestants from Ghent. During this period, Pourbus was mainly active as a water management expert and engineer; his artistic output decreased as a result.
In 1580, he painted a plan of the Abbey of the Dunes that was intended to serve as a guide for the reconstruction of the monastic complex after the war. This indicates that he had enough credibility within the suppressed Catholic community left to be granted this commission. In contrast, he also created the designs for the
deconsecrated
Deconsecration, also called secularization, is the act of removing a religious blessing from something that had been previously consecrated by a minister or priest of that religion. The practice is usually performed on churches or synagogues to ...
Church of
St. Christopher
Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is venerated by several Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius (reigned 249–251) or alternatively u ...
in autumn of that same year to be turned into a market hall, because it was no longer permitted to be used for worship.
Pieter Pourbus died in January 1584. He may have been one of the many victims of the
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
that struck Bruges at the time. His widow, Anna Blondeel, was allocated a pension by both the city's magistrate and the Liberty of Bruges. His portrait was hung in the guildhall as a memento to him. This portrait is however lost.
Legacy
Pourbus was the leading figure of his generation in Bruges, often pioneering techniques. Stylistically speaking, he is part of the generation of
Frans Floris
Frans Floris, Frans Floris the Elder or Frans Floris de Vriendt (17 April 15191 October 1570) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, print artist and tapestry designer. He is mainly known for his history paintings, allegorical scenes and portraits.< ...
. This generation of painters realized the breakthrough of the Italian Renaissance in the Low Countries. For example, Pourbus' ''Joyous Entry of Charles V and Prince Philip II'', which dates from 1549, is a prime description of Renaissance architecture in Northern Europe.
In addition, Pourbus developed a recognizable hand that was influenced by
classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...
and its characteristic use of restraint and clear lines. Pourbus' works are often considered by scholars to be the last examples of the traditional Bruges school of painting.
He tutored both his son and grandson, Frans the Elder and Frans the Younger, who then became respected artists in their own right and contributed greatly to the beginning era of the
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...
.
Pourbus managed to make a name for himself during his lifetime as one of the most important painters of his generation, both in Bruges and elsewhere; for example, Italian contemporaries such as historian
Ludovico Guicciardini
Lodovico Guicciardini (19 August 1521 – 22 March 1589) was an Italian writer and merchant from Florence who lived primarily in Antwerp from 1542 or earlier. He was the nephew of historian and diplomat Francesco Guicciardini.
''Description of ...
and artist biographer
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...
make favourable mentions of him. Ludovico Guicciardini names him as one of the most important painters of his time in his ''Decrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi'' or ''Description of all the Low Countries'' in 1567.
There are no portraits of Pieter Pourbus, but, according to Paul Huvenne, he may have included a self-portrait on the left altar wing of the "Tryptych of the Holy Sacrament fraternity" in the St Saviour's Cathedral, Bruges.
Works
Paintings
Paintings by Pieter Pourbus can be seen mainly at the
Groeningemuseum
The Groeningemuseum is a municipal museum in Bruges, Belgium, built on the site of the medieval Eekhout Abbey.
It houses a collection of Flemish and Belgian painting covering six centuries, from Jan van Eyck to Marcel Broodthaers. The museum' ...
Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...
in Amsterdam, the Sint Janskerk in Bruges, and the
Church of Our Lady, Bruges
, image = Church Of Our Lady Bruges.jpg
, imagesize = 250
, caption = Church of Our Lady
, location = Bruges
, country = Belgium
, coordinates =
, denomination ...
. Other than the above-mentioned paintings, his corpus includes with certainty the following works:
File:Pieter Pourbus - Portrait of a young minister.jpg, ''Portrait of a young minister'', c. 1535–80, 42.5 cm × 31 cm,
Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...
, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
File:Pieter Pourbus - Portrait of a woman.jpg, ''Portrait of a Woman,'' c. 1535–84, 34 cm × 27.5 cm, Inscriptions top left: ''"A.DNI.1548; middle above: OBIIT A 60; top right: AETATIS MEAE 56"'',
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 ...
(KMSKA), Belgium
File:Pierre Pourbus - Bearded, red-headed Man, seated - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Bearded, red-headed man, seated'' 1555, 84 × 65 cm, Santander Bank Foundation, Madrid, Spain
File:Pieter Pourbus Portrait of Gentleman.jpg, ''Portrait of a gentleman in armour'', c. 1570–80, 35 cm × 27.2 cm,
Musée de Picardie
The Musée de Picardie is the main museum of Amiens and Picardy, in France. It is located at 48, rue de la République, Amiens. Its collections include artifacts ranging from prehistory to the 19th century, and form one of the largest regiona ...
, France
File:Pourbus lady pomander.jpg, ''Portrait of an Unknown Lady, holding a pomander on a Gold Chain'', 1560
File:Pieter_Pourbus_-_Portrait_of_Olivier_van_Nieulant_-_WGA18257.jpg, ''Portrait of Olivier van Nieulant'', 1573, 49.5 × 37.5 cm - Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
File:Pieter Pourbus Christian van der Goes.jpg, ''Portrait of
Christian van der Goes
Christiaan or Christian van der Goes (1530s, Delft – 22 September 1600), a Dutch nobleman, was schout of Delft from 1562 to 1577.
Christian was the son of Adriaan van der Goes, Land's Advocate of Holland (died 5 November 1560), and Anna van S ...
'', 1574, 91 cm × 67.5 cm, top right inscript. : "A: Dm 1575 - Aetatis 44"
File:Pieter Pourbus - Last Judgement - WGA18254.jpg, ''Last Judgement'', 1551, 229 cm × 180.5 cm,
Groeningemuseum
The Groeningemuseum is a municipal museum in Bruges, Belgium, built on the site of the medieval Eekhout Abbey.
It houses a collection of Flemish and Belgian painting covering six centuries, from Jan van Eyck to Marcel Broodthaers. The museum' ...
, Brugge, Belgium
Attributed paintings
* "Portrait of a Woman in a White Bonnet", c.1545/1555, 18 × 18 cm, – Gift (with the house and grounds) from Anthony de Rothschild to the National Trust, 1949. National Trust, Ascot, United Kingdom.
* "Mary Magdalene", oil on oak panel, attr. to P. Pourbus, 46 × 30.50 cm, Artcurial auction, Paris June 16, 2020, sold for €517.400.
File:Pieter Pourbus (II) of Meester van de 1540s - Portret van een man (1544).jpg, ''Portrait of a man'', 35.5 × 30 cm, Inscriptions top: ''AN(O) AETATIS SVAE 40 1544''. National Gallery (
National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
), Oslo, Norway
File:Magdalena. Pourbus.jpg, ''Mary Magdalene'', c. 1559, 46 × 30.50 cm, oil on oak panel, attr. to P. Pourbus
Groeningemuseum
The Groeningemuseum is a municipal museum in Bruges, Belgium, built on the site of the medieval Eekhout Abbey.
It houses a collection of Flemish and Belgian painting covering six centuries, from Jan van Eyck to Marcel Broodthaers. The museum' ...
Groeningemuseum
The Groeningemuseum is a municipal museum in Bruges, Belgium, built on the site of the medieval Eekhout Abbey.
It houses a collection of Flemish and Belgian painting covering six centuries, from Jan van Eyck to Marcel Broodthaers. The museum' ...
, Bruges(en) Anne Van Oosterwijk, et al. ''The forgotten masters. Pieter Pourbus and Bruges painting from 1525 to 1625.'' hent Snoeck, 017 . Catalogue of the exhibition at the
Groeningemuseum
The Groeningemuseum is a municipal museum in Bruges, Belgium, built on the site of the medieval Eekhout Abbey.
It houses a collection of Flemish and Belgian painting covering six centuries, from Jan van Eyck to Marcel Broodthaers. The museum' ...
# Paul Huvenne, PhD thesis, 1984, Ghent University.
# Paul Huvenne, ''Pierre Pourbus, peintre brugeois, 1524–1584,'' cat. exp., Musée Memling (Hôpital Saint-Jean), 29 juin-30 septembre 1984, Bruges, Crédit Communal, 1984.
# Paul Philippot, ''La Peinture dans les anciens Pays-Bas xve – xvie siècles'', Paris, Flammarion, 1994, 303 p., (), pp. 230–231.
# Maryan W. Ainsworth, Win Blockmans, Till-Holger Borchert (et al.), ''Bruges et la Renaissance. De Memling à Pourbus'', cat. expo., Bruges, 15 août-6 décembre 1998 Gand, Ludion; Paris, Flammarion; Bruges, Stichting Kunstboek, 1998, 319 p., ().
# Irene Smets, ''Le Musée Groeninge à Bruges : un choix des plus belles œuvres'', Ludion, 2000, 127 p. ().
# (nl) Anne Van Oosterwijk, Maarten Bassens, Till-Holger Borchert, Heidi Deneweth, Brecht Dewilde (et al.), ''Vergeten Meesters, Pieter Pourbus en de Brugse schilderkunst van 1525 tot 1625'', éd. : SNOECK GENT. Catalogue of the exposition at the Groeningemuseum, Bruges Oct.13, 2017 – Jan.21, 2018. 336 pages.
# (en) Anne Van Oosterwijk, et al. ''The forgotten masters. Pieter Pourbus and Bruges painting from 1525 to 1625.'' hent Snoeck, 017 . Catalogue of the exhibition at the
Groeningemuseum
The Groeningemuseum is a municipal museum in Bruges, Belgium, built on the site of the medieval Eekhout Abbey.
It houses a collection of Flemish and Belgian painting covering six centuries, from Jan van Eyck to Marcel Broodthaers. The museum' ...
, Bruges, Oct. 13, 2017 – Jan. 21, 2018. 336 pages.
# (en) (nl) Marc de Beyer and Josephina de Fauw, ''Pieter Pourbus: meester-schilder uit Gouda'' = ''Pieter Pourbus: Master painter of Gouda.'' Gouda: Museum Gouda, 2018. . Catalogue of the exhibition in Museum Gouda, Feb. 17 – June 17, 2108. 86 pages.