The King Midas
ABRAHAM GOVAERTS
(Antwerp 1589 – 1626)
Oil on copper. 28 x 54.5 cm. (11,02 x 21,45 in.) 1620 –25 ca. Reproduced in the reasoned catalog
The figures are painted by Hans Jordanes III (Antwerp 1595-1643). The subject of our painting is Ovid’s metamorphosis, in a musical atmosphere with Pan and Apollo and with King Midas as witness of the event as well as arbiter. Apollo plays the lyre and bread the flute, the victory is from Apollo, while King Midas leans towards Pan, this provokes the fury in Apollo and turns King Midas into an ass. It has an inscription “N 2” on the back.
Flemish painter of landscapes and mythological subjects. Son of important art dealer. He was baptized in the city of Antwerp in 1589. He became the Master of the Guild of St. Luke in 1607. And by 1626 he was director of the Guild of Antwerp, in that same period Frans Snyders was his student. He collaborated frequently with other artists such as H. De Clerk, Fr. Francken II, and H. Francken II who used to paint the figures in his landscapes. In the first stage of his career his works have a strong influence of the Frankenthal School, especially following the technique and style of G. Van Coninxloo. He also came into competition with his rival Jan Brueghel I. His compositions were forested landscapes, with numerous trees of great foliage, the leaves painted them in a peculiar and characteristic way, endowing them with rhythm and movement. The tonalities were always green, brown and blue, highly in the style and trend of the landscape painters of his time. His paintings have sometimes been confused with those of G. Van Coninxloo, J. Brueghel I, D. Vinckboons, A. Mirou or J. Van der Lanen.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- R. H. Wilenski “Flemish Painters” 1960 vol. 2.
- W. Bernt “Die Niederlandische Maler der 17 Jahrhunderts” vol.3, 1979 N. 465-466.
- Y.Thiery “Les Peintres flamands de paisajes au XVII e siecle, de precurseus a Rubens,1987, pg. 217 – 223.
- J. Maere & M. Wabbes “Ilustrated Dictionary of Seventeen Century Flemish Peinters” 1994 Vol. 3 pg. 184 –85.
- E. BENEZIT “Dictionaire des peintres….” vol. 6 , pg. 336
PROVENANCE
- Private collection, London.
MUSEUMS
There are works of A. Govaerts in the collections of the Museums of many cities of the world, among others: Antwerp, Brussels, Budapest, Florence, Frankfort, Prague, The Hague, Bordeaux, Milan, Helsinki, etc.