Landscape with Holy Family and Angels
ABRAHAM GOVAERTS
(Antwerp 1589 – 1626)
PIETER VAN AVONT
(Malinas 1600 – Deurne 1652)
Oil on copper. 47 x 37 cm. (18,5 x 14,56 in.) 1630 ca. Certified by Professor Klaus Ertz
Magnificent example of collaboration, following the general practice in Antwerp in the 17th century, between Abraham Govaerts as landscape specialist and van Avont as painter of “staffage”, i.e. the painting of the characters. In this way, the Gospel episode of the rest of the flight to Egypt becomes the expedient to stage a nature of vivid colors, with rich turquoise and aqua green accents, enhanced by a vast range of naturalistic details: from the rose garden on the right to the fruits at the top. The very fine copper sheet on which the work was painted (in perfect condition) is of considerable size and was probably destined for the Spanish and Mexican market, according to a commercial practice in vogue from the 1940s onwards. Thanks to this practice, Flemish painting on copper in the “Brueghelian style” had an unusual diffusion and worldwide success. It is the undoubted ability of the “Brueghel style” to conquer the eye with such incredible ease, dissolving the most typical stylistic matter effortlessly and with an infallible method, chiseling the details as in a goldsmith and always choosing a vibrant chromatic chord, with the aim of stimulating the gaze. The angels surrounding the Holy Family add, then, a further tone of delicacy to the scene, through an anecdotal and joyful attitude, full of “joie-de-vivre.”
Abraham Govaerts was an outstanding Flemish painter of landscapes and mythological subjects. Son of an important art dealer. He was baptized in the city of Antwerp in 1589.
He became Master of the Guild of St. Luke in 1607, and by 1626 he became director of
the Antwerp Guild, during the same period Frans Snyders was his pupil. 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 entered into competition with his rival Jan Brueghel I. His compositions were wooded landscapes, with numerous trees with large foliage, the leaves painted in a peculiar and characteristic way, giving them rhythm and movement. The tones were always green, brown and blue, very much in the style and fashion 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.
PIETER VAN AVONT
(Malinas 1600 – Deurne 1652)
Peter Van Avont, Flemish artist, specialized in figure painting, he also made engravings
at the same time as he was a draughtsman. He is known mainly for his religious scenes, mythological and cabinet paintings. Son of the sculptor Hans Van Avont. On January 14, 1600, he was baptized in Mechelen (Belgium). In 1620 he entered the Guild of Saint Luke of Mechelen, becoming in 1622-23 master of this guild. That same year he married Catherine Van Hertsen in the Cathedral of Antwerp. He had several pupils: P. Van de Cruys (1625-26), Fr. Wouters (1629), P. Wouters (1631-32). On October 17, 1631 he became a citizen of the city of Antwerp. From 1632 to 1634 he was a member of the rhetorical chamber De Violieren. Peter Van Avont was friends with J.Brueghel II and the engraver W.Hollar. He often worked in collaboration with other artists, such as: Fr.Wouters (pupil), J.Brueghel I&II, D.Vinckboons, L.Van Uden, J. Wildens, J.d’Arthoris, L.Achtschellink, L.de Vadder and Fr.Ykens. In particular, he painted the figures for the landscape compositions of these painters. In 1636 he executed a Madonna (in the center of a floral garland), painted by Fr. Ykens for St.Jacob’s Church in Antwerp.
His favorite subjects included holy families surrounded by angels and mythological scenes with baroque landscapes in the background. Often his donors can be identified, appearing posed on either side of the commissioned religious scene. He has a great skill in the handling of the color palette. His paintings appear in some engravings of artists such as: W.Hollar, P.Pontius, S.Verbruggen, Th.van Merlen.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
– Walther Bernt, The Netherlandish Painters of the Seventeenth Century, 1979, Tomo I
p. 45
– E. Benedit, Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs, 1998, Vol.
6, p. 336
– Y.Thiery “Les Peintres flamands de paisajes au XVII e siecle, de precurseus a
Rubens, 1987, pag. 217 – 223.
– J. Maere & M. Wabbes “Ilustrated Dictionary of Seventeen Century Flemish
Peinters” 1994 Vol. 3 pag. 184 –85.
– Catálogo All the paintings of the Rijkmuseum in Amsterdam, pág 293.
PROVENANCE
– Private Collection, Italy
MUSEUMS
There are works by Abraham Govaerts and Pieter van Avont in the collections of almost
all the most important museums in the world, such as: Rijkmuseum, Amsterdam
(Netherlands) – Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp (Belgium) – Museum of Fine
Arts, Budapest (Hungary) – Uffizi Gallery, Florence (Italy) – Mauritshuis, The Hague
(Netherlands) – Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan (Italy) – National Museum, Helsinki
(Finland), etc.