Self-Portrait with Parents, Brothers, and Sisters by Jacob Jordaens (c. 1615). Oil on canvas. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg,
Russia
Jacob Jordaens (May 19, 1593 - October 18, 1678), was a Flemish painter from
the Baroque period, born in Antwerp.
Biography
Jacob Jordeans was born to Jacob Jordaens Sr., a wealthy linen merchant, and Barbara van Wolschaten on May 19, 1593. Born in the
city of Antwerp he was the first of eleven children.[1]
Like Rubens, he studied under Adam van Noort,
his only teacher. After eight years of training with van Noort, Jordaens entered the Guild
of St. Luke as a waterscilder, or watercolor artist. This was a skill that would become extremely important to his
design of tapestries as the cartoons were often executed in watercolor..[2]. Unfortunately, examples of his watercolor works are no longer in existence. In the same year as his
entry into the guild, 1616, he married his teacher's eldest daughter, Anna Catharina van Noort. The
marriage prevented him from making the traditional Northern artist's journey to Italy to study classical and Renaissance art.
Regretting this shortcoming, Jordaens made many efforts to study prints or works of Italian masters available in the North. For
example, Jordaens is known to have studied works by Titian, Veronese, Caravaggio, and Bassano. Later
on in his career, Jordaens abandons watercolor for the more conventional and profitable oil painting. He also became a prolific
tapestry artist.[3] Jordaens’s commissions came mainly from
wealthy local Flemish patrons and clergy. Jordaens painted Flemish life with honesty and authenticity catching common people in
the act of celebratory expressions of life.[4]
A far more notable influence was exerted upon his style by Rubens, who occassionally employed him to reproduce small sketches
in large format. Jordaens is second only to Rubens in their special department of the Flemish school. In both there is the same
warmth of color, truth to nature, mastery of chiaroscuro and energy of expression; but
Jordaens is wanting in dignity of conception, and is inferior in choice of forms, in the character of his heads, and in
correctness of drawing. Not seldom he sins against good taste, and in some of his humorous pieces the coarseness is only atoned
for by the animation. Of these last he seems in some cases to have painted several replicas. Although he continually drew upon
Rubens’ motifs throughout his career, the work Jordaens produced is characterized by a greater naturalism, the tendency to crowd
the surface of his compositions, and a preference for the burlesque, even in religious and mythological subjects.[5]
In addition to being a well-known portrait painter, he also employed his pencil in biblical, mythological, and allegorical
subjects and even etched a number of plates. Although primarily a history painter, Jordaens also painted illustrations of Flemish
proverbs, such as the "Old Sing so the Young Twitter," and depictions of Flemish festivals, for example "The King
Drinks."[6] He was also well known for his portrait
painting. After Rubens' death in 1640 Jordeans became Antwerp's new leading artist. (Belkin p.334)
In 1635-40, when Rubens was ill from gout, Jordaens was commissioned to use Rubens' sketches, and work on the decorations for
the triumphal entry of the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand, the new Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, for his arrival in Antwerp in
1635. Although the works are lost, Jordaens’ was commissioned in 1639-40 by Charles I to finish decorating the Queen’s chambers
at Greenwich, a commission which was originally given to Rubens, who was unable to execute due to his poor health.[7]
Jordaens also played his part in a collaborative effort to decorat the Torre de la Paroda, done between 1636 and 1681 (Vieghe,
262). Two works in the series attributed to Jordaens are Appollo and Pan (1637), made after a sketch by Rubens, and Vertummus and
Pomona (1638)(Vieghe, 262). Further contributions debated include "Fall of the Titans", "Marriage of Peleus and Thitis", and
"Cadmus Sawing the Dragons Teeth"(Vieghe, 262). In 1661, he was asked to paint three, fairly large lunettes for the newly
constructed Amsterdam Town Hall.[8]
Jordaens died of the mysterious Antwerp disease ('zweetziekte' or 'polderkoorts' in Dutch) in October of 1678, which -on the same
day- also killed his unmarried daughter Elizabeth, who lived with him. Their bodies were buried together under one tombstone in
the Protestant cemetery at Putte, a village just north of the Dutch border, where his wife Catharina had been put to rest
earlier. The Protestant religion was forbidden in Antwerp, which at the time was still Spanish-occupied territory. Towards the
end of his lifetime Jordaens converted to Protestantism, but continued to accept commissions to decorate Catholic
churches.[9]
A monument was erected in Putte in 1877, dedicated to and containing the tombstones of Jordaens and two of his pupils, van
Pape and Stalbemt. It stands on the location of the little Protestant church and cemetery, both of which were demolished years
earlier.
Works
The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1616.
This work depicts the Virgin Mary preparing to suckle the Christ Child while He is adored by Flemish-looking shepherds. The
scene is limited to five figures who, with the exception of Christ, are shown in half length emphasizing the intimacy of the
scene. Prior to 1616, Jordaens had been interested in the bright, clear palette of Mannerism.
However, in this image, he is experimenting with using light, rather than color, as the primary means to mold figures in space.
This is evidence of his interest in Caravaggio. The principle light source in The
Adoration of the Shepherds is the candle held by St. Joseph. This also reflects influence of Adam Elsheimer, who is known for placing a light source in the center of his compositions.[10] Perhaps another influence of Caravaggio may be cited in
Jordaens use of realism. "The Virgin and Child are rendered in rustic simplicity, and are not even slightly idealized."[11] Jordaens painted at least six other renditions of the
Adoration of the Shepherds. He usually grouped these half-length figures closely together and cropped the scene so that
the viewer focused their attention soley on the figures. This compositional approach sought to intensify the narrative and
accentuate the characters' expression.
The Martyrdom of St. Apollonia, 1628
The church of St. Augustine, located in Antwerp, had three alters. Each alter held one large painting by either Rubens, van
Dyck, or Jordaens. All three paintings were created in 1628.[12] Rubens' "Madonna and Child Adored by Saints" hung over the high or main alter in the center. The
alter on the left was where you found van Dyck's "St. Augustine in Ecstasy", and finally Jordaens "The Martyrdom of St.
Apollonia" hung over the alter located to the right.[13]
The Story of Cupid and Psyche, 1640-41
Sometime during the years 1639-40, Jacob Jordaens received the commission to create a series of works for Charles I of England
through Balthazar Gerbier, the King’s agent in Brussels, and Cesare Alessandro Scaglia, a diplomat residing in Antwerp. The
project entailed twenty-two paintings illustrating The Story of Cupid and Psyche.[14] While the works were to be displayed in the Queen’s House at Greenwich upon
completion, the patron and final location were unknown to the artist.[15] As Jordaens submits his initial design to his intermediaries between himself and the English court,
Gerbier continually attempts to convince the King that Rubens would be much more suited to a project requiring such substantial
amounts of foreshortening.[16] His efforts are in vain,
however, as Rubens dies on May 30, 1640. With Rubens’s death, Jordaens bore sole responsibility for the entire
commission.[17]. Efforts to continue with the project
continued slowly, and a year later, in May 1641, all plans for The Story of Cupid and Psyche series were disrupted, with
the death of diplomat Scaglia. The project never fulfilled, only eight completed paintings made their way to the English Court,
and a resulting dispute with Scaglia’s heirs over payment for seven of these works continued into the next generation.[18]
Tapestry Designs
Jacob Jordaens. Kitchen Scene, preparatory study for the tapestry “Interior of a Kitchen”
Jacob Jordaens' most significant body of work were the numerous designs he did for tapestries. As the most lucrative of the
arts, tapestries were considered precious throughout the Renaissance and Baroque periods. These large wall hangings began to
appear on the walls of wealthy European nobility in the fourteenth century. [19] Patrons employed the likes of Jacob Jordaens, Peter Paul Rubens and Pietro Cortona to be portrayed
in a manner that would identify themselves with famous historical or mythological figures as a form self promotion. [20] Jordaens’ process of tapestry creation included a
preliminary drawing in watercolor on paper, and later on canvas. Modelli were made in oil on panel or paper, and were
called peiit patrons. These small cartons were converted to the final cartoons that the tapestry would be executed from.
[21] Jordaens’s tapestries were made for the aristocracy
who placed such high value on them they would carry them with them while they traveled or went on military campaigns as a symbol
of their status. [22] Jordaens’ scope of artistic
representation was diverse, ranging from mythology, country life, to the history of Charlemagne. [23] It has been noted that Jordaens’ tapestry design incorporated densely organized
crowds of figures, packed into a flat two-dimensional picture plane emphasizing surface patterns which resulted in a “woven
picture”.[24] The drawing done for the tapestry
Interior of a Kitchen is an example of a part of the process used by Jacob Jordaens. He has used brown ink and applied
color over black chalk on paper to layout the still life on a table and how the figures were to be arranged. The final tapestry
underwent changes, but the initial design which borrowed elements of still life paintings by the seventeenth century Antwerp
artist Frans Snyders, was fairly closely adhered to.[25]
Bibliography
- An elaborate work on this painter, "Jordaens' leven en werken" ("Jordaens' Life and Work") by Max Rooses, was published in 1906.
- d'Hulst, Roger Adolf, Nora de Poorter, and M. Vandenven. 'Jacob Jordaens, 1593-1678 Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum Voor Schone
Kunsten, 27 March-27 June 1993 : Catalogue. Gemeentekrediet, 1993.
- Nelson, Kristi. Jacob Jordaens Design for Tapestry. Brepols, 1998.
- d'Hulst, R.A: ”Jordaens, Jacob” The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Ed. Hugh Brigstocke. Oxford University Press, 2001. Gove
Art Online. Oxford University Press, 2005. [20 Oct 2007]. http://www.groveart.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/
See also
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References
- ^ d'Hulst
- ^ Nelson, 4
- ^ d'Hulst
- ^ Nelson
- ^ d'Hurst
- ^ d'Hurst
- ^ d'Hurst
- ^ d'Hurst
- ^ d'Hurst
- ^ d'Hulst
- ^ d'Hulst
- ^ d'Hulst
- ^ d'Hulst
- ^ d’Hulst, 26.
- ^ d’Hulst, 10, 26.
- ^ d’Hulst, 10.
- ^ d’Hulst, 26
- ^ d’Hulst, 26.
- ^ Nelson,6
- ^ Nelson,6
- ^ Nelson,8
- ^ Nelson,12
- ^ Nelson,15
- ^ Nelson,16
- ^ Nelson,90
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