St. Francis Receiving the Christ Child from the Virgin
Denys Calvaert, called Dionisio Fiammingo
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Tag Archives: Flemish art
The historical and iconographic details in this early Spanish painting by Jaun de Flandes make it one of M&G’s most intriguing works.
In this triptych the artist beautifully pictures several of the most familiar Christmas story events.
Christ on the Cross
Oil on panel, c. 1610, branded on reverse with the seal of Antwerp Guild of St. Luke
Peter Paul Rubens
Flemish, 1577–1640
So they took Jesus, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called The Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. John 19:17,18
Christ on the Cross is one of M&G’s better-known paintings, due in part to the great master who created it. Peter Paul Rubens was born in Seigen, Germany and reared Roman Catholic. At age 12, his family returned to Antwerp, where he received a classical education, typical of the influence of Renaissance Humanism. In the Netherlands, he more than likely apprenticed under the leading artists of the day including Tobias Verhaect, Adam van Noort, and Otto van Veen. By 1598, he obtained the status of a master painter and entered the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke, similar to a union for artists.
To continue his training, he moved to Italy two years later, where exposure to masterworks by artists like da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian, and Caravaggio further influenced his developing style. During his eight years on the peninsula, he completed commissions for nobility and churches in both Italy and Spain, spending much of his time serving the Duke of Mantua. By the time he returned to Antwerp in 1609 his renown as an artist preceded him. In his lifetime he filled hundreds of commissions, served as a court painter (in Italy and the Netherlands), diplomat, and ambassador.
As the head of a large studio, he employed as many as three hundred assistants to help him meet the commissions he received from European kings and aristocracy. His workshop included artists who specialized in certain parts of a painting’s composition such as animals, flowers, or physical features. Although, Rubens most likely often painted the hands, feet, or faces of individuals. One of his best-known students is Anthony van Dyck, also represented in M&G’s collection. Rubens’ pageant-like paintings represent the apex of the High Baroque style. He stands as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, baroque artists of the Golden Age.
According to several specialists, M&G’s painting is recognized as one of Ruben’s better works. Likely, this work was a modello or prototype that would be referenced by an assistant to copy and complete a larger, commissioned version, which may explain some of the unfinished elements such as the absence of the crown of thorns and writing above Christ’s head.
Additionally, some stylistic features are distinctive to this specific painting including the single cross instead of three and a nail for each appendage. However, Christ’s position with his arms spread upward instead of outward represents a turning point in Christian iconography. In an exhibition catalog, former North Carolina Curator David Steel, explains Rubens’ novel depiction: “Rubens’ Christ suffers heroically, his muscles tense, his fingers clenched, and his arms raised almost straight above his head, thrusting his torso outward. This image emphasizes the physical sacrifice which Christ suffered on behalf of mankind, yet his upward straining, restated in the staves below, suggests his ultimate triumph.”
Of the three crosses on Golgotha, Christ was in the middle, the place reserved for the most notorious of lawbreakers. Rubens presents Christ, the perfect Son of God, as the singular focus of punishment and suffering, which the Apostle Paul emphasizes in II Corinthians 5:21, “He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Meditate and marvel at the wonder of God’s crucified and resurrected Son during this Easter season!
John Good, Security Manager and Docent
Published in 2020
Triptych: Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, Flight into Egypt
Oil on panel
Jan Swart van Groningen
Flemish, c 1500-1560
As his name states, Jan Swart came from the town of Groningen in the Netherlands. No documents tell of his training, but this painting depicts his fondness for showing people in unusual headgear. It also reveals his other work as a book illustrator. Here Swart pictures the central truth of Christ’s coming into the world, placed within the context of His early life.
M&G’s Triptych (three panels) illustrates three events in Christ’s early life: the Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, and the Flight into Egypt. The birth of Christ signified the coming of a new covenant—a covenant that forever removed the necessary demand of the Old Testament Law requiring atonement for sin before the joy of reunification and fellowship with God.
Swart unifies the three stories of the triptych through a key motif: broken architectural elements. The left panel (clearly the stable with a curious cow in the background) has the Christ-child lying on a manger of ornate stone, possibly the base of a larger pillar. But the broken pillar at the base of the marble manger (right foreground) catches the viewer’s attention because its decoration is too fine to be part of a stable and because it matches all the other pillars, especially the broken one in the foreground of the Adoration. In the Flight, the Madonna and Child are resting on a pillar’s base by the side of the road. In each panel then, Swart uses the broken columns to point to Christ’s reason for coming to earth.
However, Swart develops his illustration of the Scriptures even more, specifically within the large, middle panel. The Adoration is central to an understanding of that New Covenant that Christ came to establish. To appreciate his storytelling, one must carefully consider the motif of the number 3.
Three in Composition
Swart adorns the frame of the middle panel with a trefoil centered over the Madonna and Child. This iconography tells the viewer that the scenes are the story of the One God in Three Persons, the Trinity of which Christ is the second Person. Swart then emphasizes this truth through more tripling in the work. There are three openings in the room, which is clearly not a stable. In doing so he follows the same Scriptural distinction that the Magi came to “the house where the young child was.” Interestingly, each opening emphasizes a key character in the story:
- The left doorway holds the third magus as well as some other apparently well-to-do men, based on their clothing.
- The middle opening, framing the Virgin’s head, shows some soldiers in the background. Their presence alludes to Herod’s men, who were tasked with murdering the male infants in Bethlehem to prevent Christ from becoming king—the reason the family fled to Egypt.
- The right opening frames a large building in the distance with townspeople going about their business, unaware or uncaring about the visit of such prestigious visitors to their village and to the Savior of the world. The full, frontal view of the first magus in his ostentatious dress already makes him a focal point, but the opening behind him seems to frame him as if he were posing for a portrait.
Three Gifts
Swart does not include Joseph in this panel, though Christ’s earthly father is often part of this family scene. The reason is that the focus is on the heavenly family of the Christ. The three gifts of the magi emphasize a different family than that of Joseph’s.
- Gold is a gift for a king and points to Christ’s position as the King of heaven who will be rejected and killed by His lawful subjects.
- Frankincense, a gift for deity, represents the fact that Christ is the God of heaven who will not only be the priest who offers the sacrifice for sin but will also be the sacrifice itself.
- Myrrh is a burial oil symbolizing the death that will be necessary to establish the New Covenant of grace. It also emphasizes the unbelievable story of the Christ: The King of heaven and the Creator of the world will die for those who owe Him everything and will allow them the exercise of their free wills to reject or accept Him.
Christ’s lineage through Joseph is that of the kings of Israel, perhaps another reason that he is not present: Christ’s royal claim to these kingly gifts relies on His eternal lineage, not that of His earthly father’s.
Three Magi
The three holders of the gifts are also interesting to note. Those held by the two Magi on the side are urn shape, commensurate with their gifts of oil. Logically then, the wide-mouthed lidded bowl offered by the central magus is the gold: the kneeling pose and the type of gift indicate the submissiveness of a subject to a king. Christ’s pose and gesture indicate His position as both king and priest in extending a blessing to His subjects.
Three Columns
The three ornate pillars within the middle panel are interesting as they are in differing conditions. The pillar in the foreground matches the one in the stable. But the other two frame the Christ and His mother. Perhaps Swart is showing the progressive nature of the New Covenant’s institution. One column is broken, another is empty, and the third fulfills its purpose. Christ must be born, die, and resurrect in order to complete the New Covenant. Swart again uses the number three to tell the story of Christ, even as an infant, has set in motion the redemption of the world.
Dr. Karen Rowe, M&G Board Member
Published in 2019
Choir Stalls
Oak
Jan Terwen Aertsz.
Flemish, 16th century
Churches and cathedrals throughout time have something architecturally in common: a location for the choir. Where the choir is placed differs in the various places of worship, yet the choir accentuates the central focus of the church: the altar. In many early European monasteries and later collegiate churches, the choir was positioned along the chancel which separates the nave (where the laity would sit) from the altar. The chancel is lined with rows of seating for the choir members. Every detail within Medieval and Renaissance places of worship were handcrafted, including the choir’s seating or choir stalls.
Choir stalls consist of carved, individual seats divided by armrests; these seats are attached to a long, carved dorsal panel (a short or high backrest board) and sometimes a canopy. M&G’s pair of sturdy oak Choir Stalls date to the 16th century and were designed by Gothic Flemish artist Jan Terwen Aertsz.
Little is known about Jan Terwen Aertzs. who lived a long life of 78 years. Born in 1511 and later educated at the Dordrecht School, Jan was considered a master woodcarver in Dort, also known as Dordrecht. While the exact church in the Netherlands from which M&G’s Choir Stalls originate remains a mystery, the location of Jan’s greatest work is on view in the Grote Kerk in Dordrecht. The church’s choir stalls, made between 1538-1542, demonstrate Jan’s skill and eye for detail, and are pristine examples of Flemish woodworking in the 16th century.
M&G’s Choir Stalls provide two sets of four seats each and are covered in finely detailed carvings. For example, the fins under the armrest are devised to look like eagles with every feather individually carved into the hard oak. The dorsal and end panels of the stalls contain images from various Biblical stories, including King Solomon displaying his God-given wisdom with the two mothers, and the believing woman healed by just a touch of Christ’s robe. Every minute design is accounted for—from the patterned hem of a character’s tunic, and the hair on Jesus’ head and beard, to the scenes’ distant mountains in the background, and the patterns in the tile underfoot. Surrounding these narratives are decorated spindles and more reliefs consisting of fruit and flowers flanked by winged, mythological creatures.
One of the most fascinating details of the Choir Stalls are the misericords. Misericords (from the Latin word for pity and heart, literally pity of the heart or compassion of the heart) are molded brackets on the underside of a seat. Choirs or monks would stand for hours singing and participating in the worship ceremony; to provide them with a modicum of comfort and stability, these misericords or “mercy seats” were added. When the choir members would stand to sing, they could lift the seat up and surreptitiously rest against this small structure while still appearing to be standing.
The ownership history, or provenance, of these beautiful seats is long, mysterious, and fascinating. The choir stalls survived the iconoclasm that followed the Protestant Reformation sweeping through the Netherlands as staunch Catholic Philip II of Spain fought to retain Flanders, where they remained undamaged until the early 20th century. As America entered the Gilded Age with its booming economy, many American business and factory owners became millionaires; they wished to display their newly-earned wealth and position by designing grand homes decorated in the Old-World style. Men like architect Stanford White were sent to Europe to purchase whole rooms of traditional Medieval or Renaissance décor and ship the furnishings back to America. White chose the Choir Stalls to adorn Hearst Castle built by William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnate. The choir stalls decorated Hearst’s home until his bankruptcy during the Great Depression. In 1941, Hammer Galleries acquired the choir stalls at auction. A later owner gifted the Choir Stalls to the Collection in 1968, where they found a home among objects and paintings of the same age. While they are not being used for their original purpose, the Choir Stalls allow M&G’s guests a glimpse into 16th-century cathedrals.
Ashley Ellis, M&G History Intern
Published in 2019
St. Augustine
Gaspar de Crayer
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St. Ambrose and St. Augustine
Oil on panel
Gaspar de Crayer
Flemish, 1584–1669
Gaspar de Crayer spent much of his career as a painter for the elite of the Spanish Netherlands. In addition to numerous portraits, he completed a large number of altarpieces. Matthias Depoorter notes: “The motifs that he borrows from the work of Rubens are so specific that people suspect that he had contact with Rubens’s studio.” For example, the figurative influence, coloration, and brushwork of Rubens’s Entombment (figure 1) is also clearly evident in De Crayer’s Deposition (figure 2).
Depoorter goes on to point out that later in De Crayer’s career the influence of Anthony Van Dyck (Rubens most noted pupil) emerges. Critics observe that Van Dyck’s portraits are characterized by a “relaxed elegance.” But this elegance is enriched by a subtle emotional sentiment that intuitively connects the subject to the viewer. These qualities are readily discerned both in Van Dyck’s Self-Portrait (figure 3) and in De Crayer’s portraits of St. Ambrose and St. Augustine from M&G’s collection.
Ambrose was a revered Greek scholar, poet, lawyer, and orator. Trained in politics and law he was literally thrust into an ecclesiastical life. When Auxentius, Bishop of Milan, died in 374 the Arian heresy was on the rise. During the election for the new bishop a violent outbreak seemed inevitable until the 35-year-old Ambrose stood up in the public square and gave an impassioned speech “exhorting the people to proceed in their choice in the spirit of peace.” Following his plea, the whole assembly took up the cry “Ambrose for Bishop.” Although his election astonished him, he determined to take up the task with vigor. Aware of his theological limitations he embarked on an arduous study of Scripture. He also read extensively the writings of the church fathers, especially Origen and Basil. Before long he was revered by both low and high born as a “good shepherd.” The garments he wears in De Crayer’s portrait symbolize his ecclesiastical station.
Although Ambrose is still counted as one of the great doctors of the Western church, his reputation is overshadowed by his most famous convert, Augustine of Hippo. It is not surprising, therefore, that Gaspar de Crayer would do a companion portrait of Augustine. This work, also part of the M&G collection, was featured as Object of the Month in February 2016.
Augustine acknowledged that Ambrose was the key figure in bringing him to Christ. He records in his Confessions that, “This man of God welcomed me, as a father. As a result, I began to love him, not because of his teaching, but because of his warm and loving personality. I enjoyed hearing him preach, not in order to learn from what he said, but in order to admire and learn to imitate his eloquence. Indeed, I still despised the doctrines he taught. Yet, by opening my heart to the sweetness of his speech, the truth of his teaching began to enter my soul, little by little.” Ambrose would baptize Augustine on Easter morning in 387. Soon after Augustine returned to North Africa where he eventually became Bishop of Hippo, ruling in that turbulent African diocese for 34 years until his death in 430.
Donnalynn Hess M&G Director of Education
Published in 2018
The Adoration of the Magi
Oil on canvas, Initialed and dated, lower right: JB 1652
Jan Boeckhorst, called Lange Jan
Flemish, c. 1604–1668
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Among the Museum & Gallery’s collection, there are both famous and unknown artists. But what about those who fall right in the middle? What about the artists who have active careers and equal skill to the “greats,” but never achieve the fame of their contemporaries? One of these artists is the Flemish master, Jan Boeckhorst.
Jan Boeckhorst, nicknamed Lange Jan (“Tall John”) was born in Münster, Germany in 1604. At seventeen, he became a canon in the Jesuit church, but at the advanced age of twenty-two (long past the standard age for training) decided to become a painter.
In the 1620s, he moved to the coastal city of Antwerp—home to some of the greatest artists of his time. Some historians claim he studied with Jacob Jordaens while others say it was Peter Paul Rubens. More than likely, Boeckhorst studied with Jordaens because Rubens was in Spain and England in the late 1620s. Around 1634, Boeckhorst achieved the title of Master in Antwerp’s Guild of St. Luke and worked alongside the other Flemish masters including Rubens and Anthony van Dyck. Boeckhorst visited Italy twice to study the sixteenth-century Venetian masters such as Titian and Tintoretto and returned to Antwerp by 1640.
Throughout his later life, he painted a variety of subject matter including religious and mythological for church altarpieces and private collectors. His artistic work ranged from paintings, designing tapestries, and illustrating for religious books. He also contributed to the founding of the Antwerp Academy. After a full life, he died on April 21, 1668.
Despite his active career, much of Boeckhorst’s work is unknown, unsigned or wrongly attributed, so it has been difficult to compile a comprehensive list of his art. One of the reasons his work might be misattributed is his close work relationship with Rubens. There are many evidences of their collaboration based on the standard studio practice of the time. Boeckhorst would help touch up paintings under Rubens’ instructions and even assisted the master in large commissions. After Rubens’ death in 1640, Boeckhorst finished or even restored Rubens’ remaining works. An example of their collaboration is King David Playing the Harp at the Städel Museum.
In M&G’s collection, there are three paintings by Boeckhorst; of these The Adoration of the Magi is considered his greatest work in America. In the lower right corner, his initials and date are painted on a rock face: JB 1652.
Boeckhorst displays a heightened attention to texture with the wafting incense, richness of the garments, and different animals. Because of his saturated colors, graceful composition and dramatic movement, scholars consider this painting to be a masterpiece of the High Baroque style.
KC Christmas, M&G graduate assistant
Published in 2017
