Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg - The Interior of a Church

Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg or Willem Schubart van Ehrenberg (also: Wilhem Schubert von Ehrenberg or Wilhem Schubert van Ehrenberg (

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,

, 1630 or 1637–

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,

, c. 1676) was a Flemish

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 ...

mainly active in Antwerp who specialized in architectural paintings including of real and imaginary church interiors, Renaissance palaces and picture galleries.Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg
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

Most likely born in Antwerp where his baptism is recorded on 12 May 1630 (despite an unnamed source stating he was born in Germany), he entered 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 ...

in 1662. He resided in Antwerp for most of his life. It is possible he travelled to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

as he made drawings of Italian subjects.Biographical details
on the site of the

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood, Los Angeles, Brentwood neighborhood ...

The date of his death is not known with certainty and is believed to have occurred between 1687 (the latest date of one of his dated works) and 1707. He was the teacher of the painter of architecture paintings

Jacobus Ferdinandus Saey Jacobus Ferdinandus Saey or Jacob Ferdinand Saeys (1658 – after 1726) was a Flemish painter who specialized in architectural paintings depicting gallant companies amidst imaginary Renaissance and Baroque palaces and buildings. After starting h ...

. His son

Peter Schubart von Ehrenberg Peter Schubart von Ehrenberg (born 1668) was a painter and stage designer active in Vienna in the early eighteenth century, and the son of the perspective painter Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg. His known works are ephemeral decorations for court ...

was also an artist who had a successful career as a painter, engraver and

stage designer Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Work

General

The majority of van Ehrenberg's pictures were painted between 1660 and 1670. He often collaborated with other artists who added the figures or animals. This was a common practice in 17th century Antwerp. His collaborators included

Hendrik van Minderhout Hendrik van Minderhout (1632 – 22 July 1696) was a Dutch-born artist who was primarily active in the Flemish cities Bruges and Antwerp. He painted marine paintings, harbor scenes, cityscapes, landscapes and architectural paintings.

, Gaspar de Witte,

Hieronymus Janssens Hieronymus Janssens or Jeroom Janssens (nicknamed ''Den danser'') (1624, Antwerp – 1693, Antwerp) was a Flemish genre painter known for his compositions depicting elegant companies engaging in dance, music or play, which were of influence on the ...

and Charles Emmanuel Biset.

Architectural works

Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg and Hieronymous Janssens - A dungeon interior with elegant figures

Van Ehrenberg painted many architectural paintings usually of imaginary church interiors, temples, palaces and art galleries. Paintings such as the ''Interior of the Saint-Carolus-Borromeus Church in Antwerp'' (1667;

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

) emphasize the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

architecture of the space depicted, but are more artificial than his

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...

contemporaries such as

Pieter Jansz Saenredam Pieter Jansz. Saenredam (9 June 1597 – buried 31 May 1665) was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age, known for his distinctive paintings of whitewashed church interiors such as ''Interior of St Bavo's Church in Haarlem'' and '' Interior of the S ...

Emanuel de Witte Emanuel de Witte (1617–1692) was a Dutch perspective painter. In contrast to Pieter Jansz Saenredam, who emphasized architectural accuracy, De Witte was more concerned with the atmosphere of his interiors. Though few in number, de Witte als ...

. His '' Interior of the St. Peters' Church in Rome'' stands in the tradition of Antwerp architecture art from the first half of the 17th century. However, the spatial effect in the oeuvre of van Ehrenberg is stronger. He showed a particular preference for the fantastic and pathetic, which he emphasized further with light-dark contrasts and a

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 ...

of almost dwarfish figures (often painted by other artists). Of particular interest are a set of paintings representing the Seven Wonders of the World such as the ''

Mausoleum of Halicarnassus The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus ( grc, Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ; tr, Halikarnas Mozolesi) was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an ...

'' and '' The Temple of Diana at Ephesus'' (both in the Musée Henri Dupuis Saint-Omer) and the two paintings of '' ruined tombstones'' (both in Oxford College Anon II, University of Oxford).

Gallery paintings

Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg worked also in the genre of the 'gallery paintings'. The 'gallery paintings' genre is native to Antwerp where

Frans Francken the Younger Frans Francken the Younger (1581 in Antwerp, 1581 – 6 May 1642, in Antwerp) was a Flemish painter who created altarpieces and furniture panels and gained his reputation chiefly through his small and delicate cabinet pictures with historical, m ...

and

Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder (, ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He was the son of the eminent Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A close friend and frequent collaborato ...

were the first artists to create paintings of art and curiosity collections in the 1620s.Susan Merriam, ''Seventeenth Century Flemish Garland Paintings. Still Life, Vision and the Devotional Image'', Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2012 Gallery paintings depict large rooms in which many paintings and other precious items are displayed in elegant surroundings. The earliest works in this genre depicted art objects together with other items such as scientific instruments or peculiar natural specimens. The genre became immediately quite popular and was followed by other artists such as

Jan Brueghel the Younger Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Younger (, ; ; 13 September 1601 – 1 September 1678) was a Flemish Baroque painter. He was the son of Jan Brueghel the Elder, and grandson of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, both prominent painters who c ...

Cornelis de Baellieur Cornelis de Baellieur (1607, Antwerp – 1671, Antwerp), was a Flemish Baroque painter. Biography According to the RKD he was a pupil of Anthonis Liesaert and is known for paintings of art galleries such as '' Interior of an Art Gallery''.

Hans Jordaens Hans Jordaens the Elder (1555–1630), was a Flemish Baroque painter whose religious works are often confused with that of other painters with the same name. Biography He was born in Antwerp, but after the siege of Antwerp, his family moved to ...

David Teniers the Younger David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II (bapt. 15 December 1610 – 25 April 1690) was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, draughtsman, miniaturist painter, staffage painter, copyist and art curator. He was an extremely versatile arti ...

Gillis van Tilborch Gillis van Tilborgh or Gillis van Tilborch (''c''. 1625 – ''c''. 1678) was a Flemish painter who worked in various genres including portraits, 'low-life' and elegant genre paintings and paintings of picture galleries. He became the keeper of ...

and

. The art galleries depicted were either real galleries or imaginary galleries, sometimes with allegorical figures.Marr, Alexander (2010) 'The Flemish 'Pictures of Collections' Genre: An Overview', Intellectual History Review, 20: 1, 5–25 Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg - Interior of an Imaginary Picture Gallery

Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg - Interior of an Imaginary Picture Gallery

An example of van Ehrenberg's work in this genre is the '' Interior of an art collector's cabinet with many visitors'' (Musée Girodet,

Montargis Montargis () is a communes of France, commune in the Loiret Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Loiret, after Orléans and its suburbs. It is near a large forest, ...

). This is a collaboration with Gaspar de Witte and Hieronymus Janssens. The composition depicts an imaginary art gallery with many visitors who are appreciating and discussing some of the artworks in the gallery. This gallery painting represents a later development in the genre initiated by David Teniers the Younger, which excludes non-art objects from the gallery. The figures in the gallery painting are portrayed as forming part of an elite who possess privileged knowledge of art. The genre of gallery paintings had by that time become a medium to accentuate the notion that the powers of discernment associated with connoisseurship are socially superior to or more desirable than other forms of knowing. The '' Interior of an Imaginary Picture Gallery'' (

Alte Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pinak ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

) dated to 1666 falls into the category of allegorical picture galleries, which can be considered a sub-category of the imaginary art gallery type. This composition depicts a large imaginary gallery in which are present a number of persons admiring and scrutinizing artworks and, on the right hand side, figures representing gods and allegorical figures. The painting is a collaboration with each of the individual painters whose work is depicted in the painting and have signed their own work:

Theodoor Boeyermans Theodoor Boeyermans, Theodor Boeyermans or Theodor Boeijermans (10 November 1620 – January 1678) was a Flemish painter active in Antwerp who painted Baroque history paintings and group portraits informed by the tradition of Peter Paul Rubens a ...

(Daughters of Cecrops and Erychtonius),

Pieter Boel Pieter Boel or Peeter Boel (baptized on 10 October 1622 – 3 September 1674) was a Flemish painter, printmaker and tapestry designer. He specialised in lavish still lifes and animal paintings. He moved to Paris, where he worked in the gobel ...

(Animal Piece),

Jan Cossiers Jan Cossiers (Antwerp, 15 July 1600 – Antwerp, 4 July 1671) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. Cossiers' earliest works were Caravaggesque genre works depicting low life scenes. Later in his career he painted mostly history and religi ...

(Diana and Actaeon),

Cornelis de Heem Cornelis de Heem (8 April 1631 (baptized) – 17 May 1695 (buried)) was a still-life painter associated with both Flemish Baroque and Dutch Golden Age painting.Sam Segal, "Cornelis (Jansz.) de Heem," ''Grove Art Online'', Oxford University Press ...

(Fruit Still Life),

Robert van den Hoecke Robert van den Hoecke (30 November 1622 in Antwerp – 1668 in Bergues-Saint-Winoc) was a Flemish painter, engraver and architect. He is principally known for his panoramic battle scenes as well as his landscape paintings. A single still life ...

(Winter Landscape), Philips Augustijn Immenraet (Italianate Landscape),

Jacob Jordaens Jacob (Jacques) Jordaens (19 May 1593 – 18 October 1678) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and tapestry designer known for his history paintings, genre scenes and portraits. After Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, he was the leading Fle ...

(Gyges and Kandaules and Allegory of Painting),

Pieter Thijs Pieter Thijs, Peter Thijs or Pieter Thys (Antwerp, 1624 – Antwerp, 1677) was a Flemish painter of portraits as well as religious and history paintings. He was a very successful artist who worked for the courts in Brussels and The Hague as wel ...

(Adoration of the Shepherds),

Lucas van Uden Lucas van Uden (18 October 1595 – 4 November 1672) was a leading Flemish landscape painter, draughtsman and engraver, who lived and worked in Antwerp. He was a leading landscape painter who collaborated with various local figure painters. ...

(Landscape) and the monogrammists missed PB (Fish Still Life) and PVI or PVH (Satyr and Nymph). Van Ehrenberg painted the architecture as well as the ceiling (which is made up of copies of Rubens' works for the

Carolus Borromeuskerk St. Charles Borromeo Church (Dutch: ''Sint-Carolus Borromeuskerk'') is a church in central Antwerp, located on the Hendrik Conscience square. It was built in 1615-1621 as the Jesuit church of Antwerp, which was closed in 1773. It was rededicated ...

in Antwerp) (later destroyed in a fire). The figures are probably by Charles Emmanuel Biset.''Interior of an Imaginary Picture Gallery''
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History Other such collaborations between multiple Antwerp painters on picture gallery paintings are recorded. Another example is

Jacob de Formentrou Jacob de Formentrou or Jacob de Fourmentrou (b. between 1620 and 1625 - d. after 1668) was a Flemish Baroque painter active in Antwerp who specialized in the genres of merry companies and gallery paintings. Life Very little is known about the li ...

's ''Cabinet of pictures'' (also known as ''Art lovers in a painting cabinet''), part of the collection of the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

.Jacob de Formentrou (fl.164059), ''A cabinet of pictures''
at the Royal Collection Such paintings can be read as a reference to connoisseurship, and in particular the connoisseur's activity of evaluating the authorship of paintings based on stylistic characteristics.Hannelore Magnus, 'Schilders, connoisseurs en hun (Salomons)oordeel, Het Schilderijenkabinet (1659) van Jacob de Formentrou en Erasmus II Quellinus'
It can also be regarded as a carefully crafted advertisement of the present talent and past legacy of the Antwerp school of painting.Nadia Sera Baadj, ''Monstrous creatures and diverse strange things": The Curious Art of Jan van Kessel the Elder (16261679)'', A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History of Art) in The University of Michigan, 2012

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrenberg, Wilhelm Schubert van Flemish Baroque painters Flemish genre painters Flemish landscape painters Flemish printmakers Painters from Antwerp Year of birth uncertain