Cornelis van der Geest
Cornelis van der Geest (1555 – 10 March 1638) was a spice merchant from Antwerp, who used his wealth to support the Antwerp artists and to establish his art collection. He was also the dean of the haberdashers guild.[1]
Art collection[edit]
He is best known today for his art collection.[2] He was portrayed repeatedly by Anthony van Dyck, while Willem van Haecht, whom he had hired as curator, painted his "constcammer" several times, including a view of the visit of Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and Isabella Clara Eugenia to his art collection.
He owned two paintings by Quentin Matsys, one of which, a Madonna, can be seen in the Van Haecht painting. Other works included in that view are Women at her toilet by Jan van Eyck, a still life by Frans Snyders, Ceres Mocked by Adam Elsheimer, Danaë by Van Haecht, Battle of the Amazons and a portrait by Peter Paul Rubens, Peasant Company with Woman making Pancakes by Pieter Aertsen, Apelles by Jan Wierix and a hunting scene by Jan Wildens. The painting also shows some of Van der Geest's sculptures, with copies of the Venus de' Medici, the Farnese Hercules, and the Apollo Belvedere.[3]
Paintings by Willem van Haecht of his art gallery:
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(1) Collection of Cornelis van der Geest with Joseph and Potiphar's wife, c. 1630 -
(2) Alexander the Great visits the studio of Apelles, c. 1630 -
(3) Apelles painting Campaspe, c. 1630 -
(4) Spurious portrait of Paracelsus in the Gallery of Cornelis van der Geest, 1620-1637 (see C. Webster, 'Bare Heads against Red Hats', in From Physico-Theology to Bio-Technology, Amsterdam 1998, 54-75). -
(5) Albert and Isabella visiting the Gallery of Cornelis van der Geest, 1628 -
(5) Left side detail: portraits of Isabella and Archduke Albert, Rubens, Prince Władysław Vasa of Poland (who visited van der Geest's Gallery in 1624, with black hat) and the host showing the Matsys Madonna
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Paintings hanging in his art gallery followed by the numbers of the five gallery paintings above:
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Woman at her Toilet by Jan van Eyck (5) -
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Ceres Mocked, by Adam Elsheimer (5) -
Judith and Holofernes, by Adam Elsheimer (3 & 5) -
The Pancake Bakery, by Pieter Aertsen (5) -
Pilgrims at Emmaus by Paul Bril (4) -
Flowers in a Vase, by Daniel Seghers (2,3 & 4) -
Game Larder Still Life with a Page Holding a Parrot, by Frans Snyders (1,2,3 & 5) -
Portrait of a Scholar, by Quentin Matsys (2,3 & 5) -
The Money Changer and His Wife, by Quentin Matsys (3) -
The Reconciliation of Esau and Jacob, by Rubens, (1) -
Battle of the Amazons by Rubens (3 & 5) -
Mucius Scaevola before Porsenna, by Rubens (4) -
The Drunken Satyr, by Rubens (2,3 & 4) -
Portrait of a Commander, by Rubens (5) -
Achilles recognized among daughters of Lycomedes, by Anthony van Dyck (2) -
Samson and Delilah by Anthony van Dyck (3) -
Portrait of Ferry Carondelet with his Secretaries, by Sebastiano del Piombo, (1,2,3 & 4) -
Roman Soldier and Servant, by Bernaert van Orley, (2,3 & 4) -
Apollo and Daphne, by Francesco Albani, (1 & 3) -
Spring, by Hans Rottenhammer, (2,3,4 & 5) -
Last Judgement, by Hans Rottenhammer, (5) -
Venus Blindfolding Cupid, by Titian (2,3 & 4) -
Venus and Cupid with a Satyr, by Correggio (2,3 & 4) -
The Last Supper, by Otto van Veen, (4 & 5) -
Winter Landscape, by Jan Wildens (5) -
Kranenhoofd on the Schelde in Antwerp, by Sebastian Vrancx (5) -
The Rape of Europa, by Hendrick van Balen (2 & 3) -
The Bean Eaters, by Vincenzo Campi (3) -
Death of Cleopatra, by Guido Reni (3) -
Diana and her Nymphs, by Domenichino (3) -
Couple with a Mirror, (1,3 & 4) -
Venus in the Forge of Vulcan, by Felice Riccio (2,3 & 5) -
Lost portrait wrongly considered as that of Paracelsus, by Quentin Matsys (5)
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Maecenas[edit]
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Van der Geest also functioned as a maecenas. He arranged for Rubens to get the order for a triptych for the Saint Walpurga church in Antwerp, which resulted in the Elevation of the Cross, now in the Cathedral of Antwerp.[4] Similarly, the order for the 1630-1632 Triptych of Saint Ildephonsus, intended for the Saint James church, but now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, was given to Rubens through the influence of Van der Geest.[1] Van der Geest also financed a new memorial for Quentin Metsys against the tower of the Antwerp Cathedral.[5]
See also[edit]
- Portrait of a Commander, a portrait owned by van der Geest.
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b Giorgi, Rosa (2008). European art of the seventeenth century. Getty Publications. p. 383. ISBN 978-0-89236-934-8.
- ^ "Kamers vol kunst in 17de eeuws Antwerpen". Rubenshuis. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ Sutherland Harris, Ann (2005). Seventeenth-century art & architecture. Laurence King Publishing. p. 426. ISBN 978-1-85669-415-5.
- ^ Timmermans, Bert (2008). Patronen van patronage in het zeventiende-eeuwse Antwerpen (in Dutch). Amsterdam University Press. p. 250. ISBN 978-90-5260-247-9. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche rederykkamers, chapter 1, Geschiedenis der violieren, by J. B. Van Der Staelen, 1834
External links[edit]
- Love in the Kunstkamer in fine arts magazine Tableau, by Gary Schwartz
- Willem van Haecht schilderde in 1628 de constkamer van cornelis van der geest; een multi-interpreteerbaar tijdsdocument, Dutch article about painting (5) in magazine Vlaanderen, Jaargang 43, 1994
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