Names such as Artus I Quellinus or François Duquesnoy may not sound familiar to many people today, but in their time they were almost as famous as their painting colleagues, like Rubens, Van Dyck or Jordaens. They belonged to a select circle of artists who developed their own artistic standards, leaving their marks on European plastic arts.

This publication has been prepared for the exhibition Heads on Shoulders (12th September – 14th December 2008) at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. The exhibition is focused on portrait busts in the Low Countries between 1600 and 1800. This is the first retrospective exhibition of monumental Baroque sculpture since the Rubens Year in 1977. Heads on Shoulders is part of a series of exhibitions organised by the Flemish Art Collection, a partnership between the Groeninge Museum in Bruges, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Ghent and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. The purpose of these exhibitions is to promote the beauty and variety of the Flemish artistic patrimony.

Just like the exhibition, this publication invites the reader/spectator to (re)discover and appreciate the virtuosity of several Baroque sculptors from the Lower Countries

Portrait Sculpture

In the first chapter, we will discuss some highlights of portrait sculpture in the Lower Countries in the 17th and 18th century. Many noble authorities, prominent citizens and artists immortalised their names with portrait busts, preferably in precious white marble.

The six busts that we will study here, illustrate the style evolution in portrait sculpture in the Lower Countries from the 16th to the 18th century, from the first shy attempts to copy the Antique style premises to Baroque grandeur, mannered exuberance and finally disarming naturalism.

Portrait Sculpture in the Lower Countries 1600-1800

Until the Renaissance, sculptured portraits were mainly religious. Saints were represented with impersonal, idealised features. Their sculptured busts were often part of a reliquary. They were meant to represent a saint’s presence in mortal remains, preserved in the reliquary, in a way that was more visible for the believers. With the ‘revival’ of classical art in the 16th century, this started to change. Artists gradually paid more attention to the unique individuality of their faces. It was the first step to a flourishing of secular portraiture in the New Times. Authorities, savants and artists immortalised their names in wood, clay or stone sculptures. They had themselves represented as classical emperors, philosophers, writers or other personalities whose moral or intellectual qualities they emulated.

The six busts that we will study here, illustrate the style evolution in portrait sculpture in the Lower Countries from the 16th to the 18th century, from the first shy attempts to copy the Antique style premises to Baroque grandeur, mannered exuberance and finally disarming naturalism. What makes these sculptures so attractive is their incredible lifelikeness and their theatrical mise-en-scène.

Bust of Charles V (ca. 1520)

Only the neck and the head, made in clay, and the removable wooden hat are original parts from the 16th century. The painted bust with the coat and the Golden Fleece chain were added in 1882.

Conrad Meit, Buste van terracotta, Karel V, ca. 1520-1530, collection Musea Brugge, inv. XXI.O.0004 - public domain

Research in archives has shown that Charles V was depicted several times in natural stone, baked pipe clay or terracotta. The prototype for this bust was probably made by the sculptor, Conrad Meit, who worked at the court of Margaret of Austria.

Although the bottom of the bust is cut straight, a traditional feature, we can now notice several new elements, e.g. the direction of his eyes gives movement to the composition, and the king’s very recognisable features are well represented – his typical narrow head, sharp chin, half-open mouth with fleshy lips, and his heavy nose. This striving for more realism reveals the artists’ knowledge of classical art.

Portrait of Antonius Triest, Bishop of Ghent (ca. 1643-1651?)

This portrait of the Ghent Bishop Antonius Triest not only owes its exceptional importance to the its technical quality – thanks to the sculptor’s talent – but also to the use of white marble, an exclusive material that, in the Southern Netherlands, was usually reserved for portraits of governors and nobles.

Jerôme Duquesnoy, Antonius Triest, bishop of Gent (1576-1657), 17th Century, collection Musée du Louvre Parijs, inv. RF4651 - © 2013 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Michel Urtado

The portrait of Bishop Antonius Triest was possibly made for his tombstone in the Ghent cathedral, illustrating one of the portrait’s primary functions: to provide a visual means to remember the dead. Therefore, they are often used on epitaphs and gravestones. In the New Times, these memorials occupied an important place inside the church. With this form of patronage – an alternative to the usual forms of charity – the commissioners hoped to contribute to their salvation in the hereafter.

AIt is possible that both Duquesnoy brothers worked on this distinguished and delicate portrait of Antonius Triest. François Duquesnoy, the most famous sculptor from the Southern Netherlands in the 17th century, spent an important part of his life in Italy, where he was known as Il Fiammingo. He developed a classicising Baroque style, different from the theatrical Baroque of Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). The fact that Antonius Triest first used François to have his portrait for his tombstone at the Ghent cathedral, shows the delicate taste of this art lover and patron. However, the work is signed by his brother Jérôme, who supposedly finished it after François’ death. Jérôme also made the tombstone for Bishop Triest (1651-1654).

The Triest portrait is a clear example of the Duquesnoy brothers’ talent, especially for the way they show the folds of the clothes and the extreme sense of detail in the elaboration of the physiognomy. The use of the bottom of the mozzetta or tippet as the contour line of the bust is very typical. This is not an exclusive motive in François Duquesnoy’s work, but a common feature in contemporary Italian portrait art in general. It is also used in the portraits of François’ Roman equal Bernini (e.g. in the portrait of Urbanus VIII, 1632, Rome, Palazzo Barberini). The striking cut under the mozzetta, which suggests the presence of the (invisible) bended left arm, illustrates the Duquesnoys’ striving for realism and even illusionism.

Portrait of Cornelis II Landschot (ca. 1656)

The bust of Cornelis Landschot used to adorn the chapel of the charity institution that he founded in his memory. Cornelis II Landschot was a devout, wealthy Antwerp businessman. He gave the order to build a place of worship on the Falconrui after he died. The bust of the generous patron was placed on top of the chapel’s entrance, on the inside. Beneath the bust were the words: “Pray for the donor”.

According to Jacob Van der Sanden, the 18th century historiographer of the Antwerp art scene, this impressive portrait of Cornelis II Landschot (1570-1656) was made by Sebastiaan van den Eynde. The bust illustrates the strong influence of contemporary Italian sculpture (where the Brussels-born François Duquesnoy played a trend-setting role) on portrait art in the Lower Countries.

Sebastiaan van den Eynde, Portret van Cornelis II Landschot, circa 1656, collectie Maagdenhuis Museum Antwerpen

Cornelis Landschot is represented in a modest shirt with a square collar. A fine cloth is draped on top of it, fixed with a round pin on the left shoulder, and totally covering the bottom of the bust. The composition gives the impression that the cape has been draped around the shoulder. Both the cape and the pin remind of the Antique examples from the Italian cinquecento, inspired by Roman portrait art, e.g. the portrait of Brutus by Michelangelo (1539-40; Florence, Museo Nazionale del Bargello). Van den Eynde had studied the work of his Italian predecessors with his own eyes during a study trip right before he made this work.

The technical quality of this sculpture is in no way inferior to that of its Italian examples. The commissioner was portrayed accurately by the extremely fine surfacing of the physiognomy. The artist depicted him slightly bending forward, so that the worshipers could better see the benefactor from a frog’s perspective when they left the chapel.

Artus I Quellinus, Luis de Benavides Carillo, Marquis of Caracena, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, 1664, collection KMSKA, inv. 701 - CC0

Portrait of Luis Francisco de Benavides (1664)

This magnificent sculpture by Artus I Quellinus is undoubtedly one of the most important pieces of the sculpture collection at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. The artist made this work in a later phase of his career, when his style started to feature a typical Baroque grandeur.

Quellinus the Older occupies a central place in sculpture in the 17th century Lower Countries. He is mainly known for his works at the former Amsterdam City Hall (now the Palace on the Dam), which he richly decorated with sculptures. He was also a successful portrait maker. His busts are famous for their monumental design, their psychologically correct naturalism and the special attention to the representation of the hands. His portraits of Amsterdam mayors set the tone for a totally new character genre: the ‘middle-class authority portrait’.

Artus I Quellinus, Luis de Benavides Carillo, Marquis of Caracena, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, 1664, collection KMSKA, inv. 701 - CC0
Artus I Quellinus, Luis de Benavides Carillo, Marquis of Caracena, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, 1664, collection KMSKA, inv. 701 - CC0
Artus I Quellinus, Luis de Benavides Carillo, Marquis of Caracena, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, 1664, collection KMSKA, inv. 701 - CC0

Portrait of Maximilian II Emmanuel (1694)

Just like Quellinus’ Portrait of Luis Francisco de Benavides, this impressive, sophisticated portrait bust by Willem Kerricx comes from the premises of the former Antwerp Guild of St. Luke. It represents Maximilian II Emmanuel, the Elector of Bavaria and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands (1691-1706). The Antwerp Guild of St. Luke had this portrait made in gratitude for the governor’s financial support to the academy. Thanks to him, it was possible to take drawing classes ‘based on the classical plastering art’.

Willem Kerricx, Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, 1694, collection KMSKA, inv. 678 - CC0

Just like de Benavides, the governor is depicted up to his waist and with his military equipment. However, there is an important difference in style: here, we could say it is overdone and stylised. Kerrickx emphasises the dignity of the governor’s position by the solemn pose, with the right hand resting on his hip. The marshal’s staff is resting casually on his left arm. The breastplate of his armour is adorned with miniature portraits, probably of emperors from Classical Antiquity, and other personages that the governor admired. Over the armour, he is wearing an ermine edged cape. Both the breast strip and the sleeves are generously adorned with lace. Around his neck, he is wearing a chain with the symbol of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The draping of the jabot and the cape, and the wind that seems to play with the hairs of the long allonge peruke, give the composition a dynamic look. The idealised and abstracted physiognomy of the face and the excess of details in the hair and the clothes, are in sharp contrast with the realism of both other busts. These style features announced the new tastes seen in the first half of the 18th century.

For this portrait, Willem Kerricx received 800 guilders, a very important sum in that time. It is one of the best works ever in the oeuvre of this artist, who created magnificent, ornamented furniture for countless churches. Like Lodewijk Willemsens, who made the third sculptured portrait from the Gallery of Honour at the Guild of St. Luke, Kerrickx often worked together with the studio of Quellinus and Verbruggen. Both families became related when Artus I Quellinus’s sister, Cornelia, married Peter I Verbruggen, another protagonist in the sculpture of the 17th century Southern Netherlands.

Detail from: Willem Kerricx, Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, 1694, collection KMSKA, inv. 678 - CC0

Allonge peruke

The height of the allonge peruke is impressive. The peruke is worked out as if the wind is playing through it, which gives the work a dynamic look.

Profile

The elector's unflattering facial profile is highly stylised, which gives it an aesthetic dimension.

Armour

The breastplate of his armour is decorated with miniature portraits, perhaps of ancient emperors and other personages that Maximilian admired.

Marshal's staff

The marshal's staff, sign of the highest military rank, rests casually on his left arm.

Golden Fleece

Around his neck, he wears the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece which can be recognised by the badge of honour of the ram's fleece with its head and legs.

Self-portrait of John Michael Rysbrack (ca. 1730)

The striking thing about this work is the fine terracotta workmanship, making it an autonomous work of art, rather than a moulded model for a marble bust. This expressive portrait is most probably a self-portrait. The model was identified thanks to the portrait of Rysbrack by the English painter John Vanderbank at the London National Portrait Gallery. It illustrates the style change in portrait sculpture in the 18th century. From then on, a disarming naturalism would set the tone.

John Michael Rysbrack, Self portrait, circa 1730, collection KMSKA / Bruikleen Koning Boudewijnstichting, inv. IB00.079 - image artinflanders.be, photo Hugo Maertens, public domain

Rysbrack was from Antwerp. He probably received his training at Michiel van der Voort’s studio. In 1720, he moved to England, where he made a successful career. He was especially known for his tombstones. This portrait belongs to the 18th century iconographical tradition of the sculptor’s and the architect’s portraits, that depict the artists very informally, and usually wearing a draped cape that reminds of the Antique portrait. By doing so, the person who is represented strives for the same fame as his illustrious precursors from Antiquity.

Rysbrack’s self-portrait belongs to the former Charles Van Herck collection, which the King Baldwin Foundation bought in 1996. The Foundation has given the work on loan to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.

Classical Antiquity as a Source of Inspiration

The second part features some paintings and a print from the museums of the Flemish Art Collection, that show the importance of Classical Antiquity as a source of inspiration for portrait sculpture and plastic arts in general from 1600 onwards.

The Classical Antiquity as a Source of Inspiration

The following paintings and print from the collections at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp and the Groeninge Museum in Bruges illustrate the importance of Classical Antiquity as a source of inspiration for portrait sculpture and plastic arts in general in the New Times.

In the New Times, classical portraits – originals, copies and casts - were very much sought after. They were the artistic ideal and the ultimate source of inspiration for artists under training. In allegorical representations, the classical busts also illustrated passing beauty, and they represented the hunger for knowledge about classical sculpture and classical art in general.

Detail from: Jacob Van Oost, The artist's studio, 1666, collectie Musea Brugge, inv. 0000.GRO0188.I - public domain
Detail from: Jacob Van Oost, The artist's studio, 1666, collectie Musea Brugge, inv. 0000.GRO0188.I - public domain
Detail from: Jacob Van Oost, The artist's studio, 1666, collectie Musea Brugge, inv. 0000.GRO0188.I - public domain

Sebastiaan Leerse in his Gallery

The Collection of Paintings of Sebastian Leerse (first half of the 17th century)

Frans Francken II, The Collection of Paintings of Sebastian Leerse, collection KMSKA, inv. 669 - CC0

The interior represented here is most probably a fictitious one. Frans Francken the Younger tried to give an idea of what a typical art collection in his time really looked like. The genre of art collections, which showed interiors with works of art and other precious objects, was very popular in 17th century Antwerp. Francken specialised in this genre and contributed considerably to its development. The commissioners often had themselves depicted in the interior, sometimes accompanied by visitors who came to admire their collections.

S. Speth-Holterhoff has identified the personages on this painting as Antwerp merchant Sebastiaan Leerse (°1594) and his family, although we are not absolutely sure. Unfortunately, there is no inventory of the Leerse family’s belongings to confirm this hypothesis by comparing the works of art described and the ones on the painting.

There are several sculptures standing against the walls of the room, including a few busts. In contrast to the sculpture on the table, which features similarities to the so-called Antinous Belvedere at the Vatican Museums, the sculptures on the background, especially the busts, are very hard to identify. We are excluding here the representation of a stream god (the Scheldt?). These busts are probably fictitious and only meant to illustrate the concepts and purposes of art collections in that time.

The interest in Classical Antiquity – especially classical sculptures, antiquaria, and contemporary antique-looking sculptures – took a very prominent place in this tendency. The galleries always features sculptures according to the Antique standards, but very often these sculptures are not based on real prototypes.

The Painter's Studio (1666)

In his book Den grondt der edel vry schilder-const (1604), Karel van Mander describes the art of drawing as ‘the father of painting’ and the basis for any young artist’s training. Jacob I of Oost seems to illustrate this statement in this representation of a painter’s studio. It looks as if Van Oost wanted to promote the use of classical sculptures as study material. A little boy proudly shows his drawing, based on a plaster cast of a female head that has been placed on the table in front of him. All over the studio, we can see all kinds of educational materials.

Jacob Van Oost, The artist's studio, 1666, collection Musea Brugge, inv. 0000.GRO0188.I - public domain

Detail from: Jacob Van Oost, The artist's studio, 1666, collection Musea Brugge, inv. 0000.GRO0188.I - public domain

Contraposto

In the background of the room is a niche in the wall. In it stands a sculpture that cannot be brought home but clearly possesses stylistic features of ancient sculpture: a robe that sticks to the body, as it were, and the so-called contrapposto pose. The Italian term ‘contrapposto’ refers to a pose in which the figure rests on one leg, while the other leg is given a looser placement.

Flora Farnese

The sculpture in the centre of the composition is a scale copy from terracotta, literally baked earth, of the so-called Flora Farnese. This sculpture, now in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples is a Roman copy after a Hellenistic original. It is named after the Roman Farnese family in whose famous collection of ancient sculptures this work was in the 17th century.

Detail from: Jacob Van Oost, The artist's studio, 1666, collectie Musea Brugge, inv. 0000.GRO0188.I - public domain

Bust of Venus

The plaster cast that is the young artist's study subject may represent the bust of Venus, possibly a derivative of the so-called Venus de Medici. This is a famous Hellenistic sculpture dating back to the work of the great Greek sculptor Praxiteles. It is kept in the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence.

Engraving

Engravings were copied to practise drawing shadows. The copy visibly hanging off the table here can be identified as a woodcut by Ugo da Carpi (1480-1520) depicting the Greek philosopher Diogenes.

Humanisme

Portret van Jan Gaspar Gevartius (circa 1628-1631)

Peter Paul Rubens portretteert de Antwerpse stadssecretaris Jan Gaspar Gevartius aan het werk in zijn studeervertrek. Op de tafel staat het marmeren borstbeeld van Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180), Romeins keizer en wijsgeer, aan wie Gevartius een onuitgegeven werk met commentaren heeft gewijd.

Peter Paul Rubens, Jan Gaspard Gevartius, ca. 1628-1631, collection KMSKA, inv. 706 - CC0

The humanist Gevartius was a close friend of Rubens. In his position of town clerk (1621-1662), he was in charge of the ceremonies and the city decoration for the Splendid Entry of the Governor Cardinal Infant Ferdinand of Spain into Antwerp in 1635. Along with Rubens, he designed a complex allegorical programme. Their friendship is also shown by the fact that the painter entrusted Gevartius with the education of his oldest son Albert when he was on diplomatic missions. After Rubens’ death, Gevartius was asked to write the text for his tombstone. He was also in charge of the Pompa Introitus Ferdinandi, a book for the Splendid Entry of 1635, with engravings by Theodoor van Tulden, based on Rubens’ designs.

Most historians agree that this painting must have been made around 1628, when Gevartius was working on his study of Marcus Aurelius. Rubens painted the portrait with artists from his studio. The head was probably entirely painted by Rubens himself, but the hands, the book and the garment were painted by one of his collaborators and retouched by the master afterwards.

Vanitas (17th century)

Just like the book, the music score, the violin, the flute and the shells, the bust in this Vanitas still life painting expresses the beauty and richness of life on earth. The bust symbolises the art of sculpturing. Vanitas stills like this one were meant as a warning. The skull, the glowing oil lamp and the sandglass are symbols of death and the transience of earthly pleasures. For those who live in moderation, there is still hope: the corn and the ivy represent resurrection after death. It has not been possible to identify this bust so far, but it is probably based on the often copied, above-mentioned Venus de’ Medici. We do not know if the little known painter Jan Denens copied this Venus during a trip to Italy around 1650, or if he used a print or a plaster copy.

Jan Denens, Vanitas, 17the century, collection KSMKA, inv. 5054 - image artinflanders.be, photo Hugo Maertens, public domain

Neoclassicism

Studies of a Bust and Figure Studies (ca. 1786-1829)

Near the end of the 18th century, the study of Antique sculptures was a very popular practice at art academies. In the Neo-Classical era these sculptures were considered as examples of perfect beauty.

This sheet shows how the Bruges painter Joseph Ducq studies a bust from three different perspectives. The sculpture that the artist uses as his example has not been identified so far. It features striking similarities with several marble portrait busts from the first century B.C., like the Portrait Bust of a Man at the Metropolitan Museum in New York (Rogers Fund 1912 [12.233]) and the Bust of Marcus Tullius Cicero at the Museo Nazionale in Rome. This makes us think that the bust, shown here, probably dates back from the same period. The deep-set eyes, the pronounced shape of the nose and the relatively big ears are very similar to the depiction of the Roman orator Cicero, although these similarities are insufficient to identify the portrayed man as Cicero.

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Colophon

This online publication was composed by Valérie Herremans in collaboration with Siska Beele (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp), Sandra Janssens (Groeninge Museum Bruges), Monique Tahon (Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent), Stéphane Vandenberghe (Groeninge Museum Bruges) and Geert Souvereyns (Flemish Art Collection).

It has been published for the occasion of the exhibition Heads on shoulders: Portrait Busts in the Low Countries 1600-1800 (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, 12 September - 14 December 2008).

Tekst: Valérie Herremans

13/09/2021

Portrait busts in the Low Countries 1600-1800