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Willem Jacob HerreynsName variations: Guillaume Jacques Herreyns, Willem Jacob Herreijns, Willem Jacob Herrijns, Willem Jacob Herryns, Guillaume Jacques Herreijns (
Upon his return to Belgium in 1771 he went to live in Mechelen where he got married. He was appointed as a director of the local drawing school. This school was renamed 'Academie van beeldende kunsten' (Academy of Visual Arts) in 1772 and was placed under the protection of
in Biographie Nationale, Volume 9, p. 288-291 In 1797 he saved 328 paintings from the churches and monasteries that had been ordered closed by the French occupiers. Many of these paintings had in fact been stolen. He worked on the return of Rubens' paintings ''Our Lady with the parrot'' and ''The Madonna surrounded by Saints''.
In 1800 he was invited to become together with Balthasar Paul Ommeganck a teacher of the members of the newly established ''Genootschap der Kunsten'' ("'Society for the arts'). This was an organisation set up at the initiative of
Willem Jacob HerreynsName variations: Guillaume Jacques Herreyns, Willem Jacob Herreijns, Willem Jacob Herrijns, Willem Jacob Herryns, Guillaume Jacques Herreijns (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,
, 10 June 1743 – Antwerp, 10 August 1827) 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 of history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
subjects and portrait
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...
s. He is regarded as one of the last painters in the tradition of the Flemish Baroque and the last follower of Peter Paul 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 tradi ...
.
Life
Herreyns was a scion of a family of artists. His great-grandfather was the painter and printmaker Jacob Herreyns the Elder. His grandfather Jacob Herreyns the younger was also a painter. His father Jacob III Herreyns was a painter and decorator. His uncle Daniel Herreyns the younger was a sculptor.Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden, ''Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool'', Antwerpen, 1883, p. 1243-1262 He got his initial training from these relatives. Subsequently he studied at the Academy of Antwerp where the prominent history and portrait painter Balthasar Beschey was one of his teachers. The young painter won in 1764 the first prize for painting from life at the Academy. He completed his studies in the same year. A year later he became one of the six director-teachers of the Academy as the replacement ofAndries Cornelis Lens
Andries Cornelis Lens or André Corneille Lens (Antwerp, 31 March 1739 – Brussels, 30 March 1822)Andries Lens
at the ...
who had also been a pupil of Balthasar Beschey. In 1767 Herreyns left the Academy and travelled.Twee altaarschilderijen van de kerk van Gijzegemat the ...
Upon his return to Belgium in 1771 he went to live in Mechelen where he got married. He was appointed as a director of the local drawing school. This school was renamed 'Academie van beeldende kunsten' (Academy of Visual Arts) in 1772 and was placed under the protection of Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine
Prince Charles Alexander Emanuel of Lorraine (french: Charles Alexandre Emanuel, Prince de Lorraine; german: Karl Alexander von Lothringen und Bar; 12 December 1712 in Lunéville – 4 July 1780 in Tervuren) was a Lorraine-born Austrian general ...
, the then governor and de facto sovereign of the Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The pe ...
. He taught a few arts subjects in Mechelen and worked on many commissions. He was offered a position by the Academy of Brussels but despite the attractive salary offered he decided to remain in Mechelen.
After invading the Austrian Netherlands in 1792, the French abolished the existing school system and as a result, Herreyns lost his academic position. Following the creation of central schools by the French, Herreyns returned to Antwerp in 1795 to become a teacher of drawing at the central school of the department of Deux-Nèthes.Guillaume Jacques Herreijnsin Biographie Nationale, Volume 9, p. 288-291 In 1797 he saved 328 paintings from the churches and monasteries that had been ordered closed by the French occupiers. Many of these paintings had in fact been stolen. He worked on the return of Rubens' paintings ''Our Lady with the parrot'' and ''The Madonna surrounded by Saints''.
In 1800 he was invited to become together with Balthasar Paul Ommeganck a teacher of the members of the newly established ''Genootschap der Kunsten'' ("'Society for the arts'). This was an organisation set up at the initiative of Mattheus Ignatius van Bree
Mattheus Ignatius van Bree (Antwerp, 1773 – Antwerp, 1839) was a Belgian painter. 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 a ...
and included initially Jan van Bree, Jean-Baptiste Berré
Jean-Baptiste Berré or Jan Baptist Berré Antwerp, 11 February 1777 – Paris, 6 May 1839) was a Flemish painter and sculptor.Willem Jacob Herreyns
at Mechelen mapt In 1810 he got permission from
at the
His religious compositions stand in the Rubens tradition, which he had studied initially under his master Balthasar Beschey, who painted in the 17th century Flemish Baroque style. Herreyns received many commissions from religious institutions in
at Mechelen mapt In 1810 he got permission from
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
to set up a museum in the former Franciscan monastery in Antwerp. In 1815, 38 of the 63 pictures removed by the French were added to its collection.
His pupils included Hendrik Frans de Cort
Hendrik de Cort or Hendrik Frans de Cort (1742 in Antwerp – 28 June 1810 in London) was a Flemish landscape painter and draughtsman. His international career brought him to Antwerp, Paris, England and Wales. He is mainly remembered for his to ...
, Wilhelm Hendrik Franquinet, Jozef Geirnaert, Cornelis & Gerard van Spaendonck
Gerard van Spaendonck (22 March 1746 – 11 May 1822) was a Dutch painter.
Life
Gerard was born in Tilburg, an older brother of Cornelis van Spaendonck (1756–1840), who was also an accomplished artist. In the 1760s he studied with decorative ...
, Gustaaf Wappers, and the young 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 ...
.Willem Jacob Herreynsat 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 ...
Work
Herreyns’ work was very highly regarded in his time. During a visit to Antwerp in 1780, the Swedish kingGustav III
Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.
Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...
admired one of Herreyn's works called ''The Purification of the Virgin'', then in the Saint-Michael's Abbey. The king immediately decided to appoint Herreyns as his court painter, although in reality Herreyns never went to Sweden. The Austrian Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...
also praised his work during his visit to Mechelen and Herreyns painted two portraits of the emperor.
His religious compositions stand in the Rubens tradition, which he had studied initially under his master Balthasar Beschey, who painted in the 17th century Flemish Baroque style. Herreyns received many commissions from religious institutions in Antwerp Province
)
, native_name_lang = nl
, settlement_type = Province of Belgium
, image_flag = Flag of Antwerp.svg
, flag_size =
, image_shield = Wapen van de provincie Antwerpen.svg
, shield_size ...
for which he painted large religious paintings. In 1775 he was commissioned by the Jezuits in Mechelen to design a series of floats on the occasion of the celebrations for the thousandth anniversary of the city's patron saint Rumbold of Mechelen
Saint Rumbold (or ''Rumold'', ''Romuold'', la, Rumoldus, nl, Rombout, french: Rombaut) was an Irish or Scottish Christian missionary, although his true nationality is not known for certain.
He was martyred near Mechelen by two men, whom he h ...
. He designed the floats together with local sculptor Pieter Valckx and also designed the triumphal arches. The designs were inspired by the designs of Rubens for the 1635 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 ...
by the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand (also known as Don Fernando de Austria, Cardenal-Infante Fernando de España and as Ferdinand von Österreich; May 1609 or 1610 – 9 November 1641) was Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Cardinal of the Holy Catholic ...
into Antwerp.
He painted a cavalry for Benedict Neefs
Dom Benedictus Neefs, O.Cist. (french: Benoit Neefs; 19 January 1741 – 7 November 1790) was the 46th abbot of Hemiksem Abbey.
Corneel Neefs was born in Kontich and entered Hemiksem Abbey in 1762, taking the monastic name Benedictus.
Abbot o ...
in Hemiskem, now in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp.
After his return to Antwerp in 1797 Herreyns mainly painted portraits for which he was highly esteemed.
His educational influence now eclipses his reputation as a painter. Herreyns is considered the last follower of the Flemish baroque tradition founded by Peter Paul Rubens. He was a good colorist (tending towards the dark and red) and a draughtsman with a precise line, but his work shows a certain coldness and lacks originality.
Herreyns' notable works include a ''Portrait of the painter Andries Cornelis Lens'' (after 1770), ''Godfrey, abbot of Tongerlo'' (1793) and ''John the Baptist in the Desert'' (1813). His work can be found in the Sint-Jan Baptist en Evangelist in Mechelen and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herreyns, Willem Jacob Flemish history painters Flemish portrait painters Baroque 18th-century Flemish painters 19th-century Flemish painters 1743 births 1827 deaths Artists from Antwerp