May issue Oud Holland: a joint collaboration between Frans Hals and Gerrit Bleker
Oud Holland presents a new double issue with four thought-provoking articles on fifteenth- and seventeenth-century art. Firstly, Jan Verheyen delves into the world of the painter Pieter Cristus (c. 1420-1475), explaining in the process why that spelling is preferable to as the more familiar ‘Petrus Christus’. Thanks to new archival finds, the author is able to reconstruct several key aspects of the artist’s life in and around his hometown of Baarle, as well as his career as portrait painter in Bruges.
Secondly, the ongoing debate on potential collaborations with Frans Hals is furthered with a close stylistic analysis of one of his quintessential works. Its author, Claus Grimm, convincingly argues that fellow Haarlem landscape painter Gerrit Bleker was actively involved in the production of the monumental family portrait of Gijsbert van Campen and Maria Palesteyn with their thirteen children, here dated between 1623-1625.
In the third article Susan Russell explains how a special series of etched views on Rome by Herman van Swanevelt has come to life. By thoroughly analysing the world of the commissioner, the French writer Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux, Russell provides clues that shed light on the realisation of the series in 1650 and its role in the printmaking scene in Paris.
Lastly, a newly found design drawing for a triptych commemorating the life of Maria Snyders offers insight into the artistic process, from detailed design to balanced composition. The author, Catherine Phillips, also proves that both design and triptych were realised by Jan Boeckhorst approximately five years before Snyders’ death in 1659.
Summaries of all four articles can be found on the Oud Holland website: https://oudholland.rkd.nl/index.php/news
Oud Holland – Journal for Art of the Low Countries 2024 – 1/2, volume 137:
- Jan Verheyen
From fields of rye to Eyckian grandeur: New biographical data on Pieter Cristus (c. 1420-1475) - Claus Grimm
Frans Hals and Gerrit Bleker: A joint collaboration on a fragmented family portrait (1623-1625) - Susan Russell
‘Diverses veues deseignees en la Ville de Rome’: Herman van Swanevelt’s 1650 print series for Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux - Catherine Phillips
The symbols of the four evangelists: A newly discovered modello for Jan Boeckhorst’s Snyders triptych (c. 1654)
