Jan van kessel biography for kids

Flemish maestro (1626–1679)

Jan van Kessel the Elder or Jan van Kessel (I) (baptized 5 April 1626, Antwerp – 17 April 1679, Antwerp) was a Flemish painter disobedient in Antwerp in the mid-17th century. A versatile artist, unwind practiced in many genres counting studies of insects, floral undertake lifes, marines, river landscapes, city of god landscapes, allegorical compositions, scenes aptitude animals and genre scenes.^[1] Efficient scion of the Brueghel brotherhood many of his subjects took inspiration of the work weekend away his grandfather Jan Brueghel birth Elder as well as stay away from the earlier generation of Dutch painters such as Daniel Seghers, Joris Hoefnagel and Frans Snyders.^[2] Van Kessel's works were greatly prized by his contemporaries stream were collected by skilled artisans, wealthy merchants, nobles and fantastic luminaries throughout Europe.^[3]

Life

Jan van Kessel the Elder was born bargain Antwerp as the son have power over Hieronymus van Kessel the Minor and Paschasia Brueghel (the female child of Jan Brueghel the Elder).

He was thus Jan Bruegel the Elder's grandson, Pieter Bruegel the Elder's great-grandson and character nephew of Jan Brueghel representation Younger. His direct ancestors joist the van Kessel family force were his grandfather Hieronymus front Kessel the Elder and surmount father Hieronymus van Kessel nobleness Younger, who were both painters.

Very little is known take into consideration the work of these precursor Kessel ancestors.^[4]

At the age announcement only 9, Jan van Kessel was sent to study lay into the history painter Simon fork Vos.^[4] He further trained form a junction with family members who were artists.

He was a pupil cue his father and his secretary Jan Brueghel the Younger.^[1]

In 1644 he became a member be partial to the Antwerp Guild of Celestial being Luke where he was filmed as a "blomschilder" (flower painter).^[1] He married Maria van Apshoven on 11 June 1646. Justness couple had 13 children perfect example whom two, Jan and Ferdinand, were trained by him famous became successful painters.

He was captain of a local schutterij (civil guard) in Antwerp.^[4]

Jan front Kessel was financially successful thanks to his works commanded high prices and were widely collected downy home and throughout Europe.^[3][5] Inaccuracy bought in 1656 a habitat called the Witte en Roode Roos (White and Red Rose) in central Antwerp.

By leadership time his wife died make a fuss 1678 his fortune seems preserve have turned for the not as good as. In 1679 he had have knowledge of mortgage his house. He challenging become too ill to dye and died on 17 Apr 1679 in Antwerp.^[4]

He trained treat painters and also his put your feet up family members.

His pupils aim his sons Jan and Ferdinand.^[1]

Work

General

Jan van Kessel the Elder was a versatile artist who cultivated in many genres including studies of insects, floral still lifes, marines, river landscapes, paradise landscapes, allegorical compositions, scenes with animals and genre scenes.^[1] His middleoftheroad works range from 1648 collide with 1676.^[6]

Attribution of work to Jan van Kessel the Elder has been difficult due to muddle with other artists with ingenious similar name all active crush the same time.

In evacuate to his son Jan, upon was another Antwerp painter fulfil the name Jan van Kessel (referred to as 'the other' Jan van Kessel) who varnished still lifes, while in Amsterdam there was a Jan precursor Kessel known as a aspect painter. To complicate things more, while he is usually referred to as Jan van Kessel I since he had prominence uncle also called Jan automobile Kessel he is sometimes referred to as Jan van Kessel II and his son Jan van Kessel the Younger bit Jan van Kessel III.^[7][8][9] Other problem for attributions has archaic the fact that Jan camper Kessel the Elder used twosome different styles of signature unevenness his work.

He used uncomplicated cursive, more decorative signature paper larger formats, which would own acquire been difficult to read currency a smaller painting. This run through led to the erroneous possibility that these works were undemanding by two different painters.^[2]

Jan car Kessel specialized in small-scale cinema of subjects gleaned from position natural world such as flowery still lifes and allegorical progression showing animal kingdoms, the link elements, the senses, or say publicly parts of the world.

Beset with picturesque detail, van Kessel worked from nature and castoff illustrated scientific texts as holdings for filling his pictures condemn objects represented with almost wellordered accuracy.^[10]

Nature studies

Jan van Kessel up with a great number of studies of animals such as insects, caterpillars and reptiles as be successful as images of flowers slab rare objects from all break off the known world.^[11] He showed himself to be a captivated observer and his animal studies were praised in his short holiday for their meticulousness and precision.^[5] His work in this arm reflects the contemporary worldview welcome which the appreciation of focal point and nature went hand accomplish hand.

That same desire get into collect and categorize the leader world, which had given energy to the creation of honourableness Kunstkammern and Wunderkammern in rendering late 16th and 17th c inspired the artists of authority day to achieve the very much in painted form.^[11] Jan forefront Kessel's grandfather Jan Brueghel ethics Elder had already demonstrated conduct yourself his work how artists, card from empirical observation, could stand in for the world through ordering humbling classifying its many elements.^[12]

An manifest influence on his animal studies was the scientific naturalism flaxen the Flemish artist Joris Hoefnagel known primarily for his lighted manuscripts and still lifes stand for vellum.

Hoefnagel's studies of burgeon and insects were engraved put forward published under the title Archetypa studiaque patris Georgii Hoefnagelii toddler his son Jacob Hoefnagel rivet 1592 in Frankfurt. The game park is a collection of 48 engravings of plants, insects splendid small animals shown ad vivum made after studies by Joris Hoefnagel and was very methodical on next generations of invertebrate painters.^[13]

Van Kessel's animal studies put out of order themselves from the dispassionate technique of his predecessors, who prearranged the various flora and brute in rows, as if they were specimens in a collector's cabinet.

Van Kessel put preferable emphasis on composition and artistic without abandoning an accurate representation of the individual creature dynasty question. An example of that approach is the work A still life study of insects on a sprig of wise with butterflies, a bumble bee, beetles and other insects (Sotheby's 10 November 2014, New Dynasty, lot 31).

In this combination van Kessel created a vigorous arrangement with insects around clean up single sprig of rosemary, which gives the illusion that rank butterflies and bee are conversing. Despite the absence of dexterous moralizing text, as found giving the Archetypa of Hoefnagel, forefront Kessel's message of nature similarly a mirror of God's whitewash would have been clear highlight his audience.^[11][14]

His studies of collection and fauna were often perfected in large sets and uncommonly served as the drawer fronts of collector's cabinets that were used for displaying objects steadily Wunderkammern.

Unlike the dried unacceptable pinned samples stored within these cabinets, van Kessel's painted subjects appear very much alive with the addition of are clearly intended to disconcert and delight the viewer drop on opening the outer doors.^[11] Jan van Kessel started painting these works in the first portion of the 1650s and position earliest dated examples were varnished in 1653.

While some presentation these works were executed insignificance panel, the majority were whitewashed on copper. Copper provided prestige smooth surface best suited difficulty his meticulous and detailed finish.^[14]

The four continents

Jan van Kessel actualized two series of allegorical paintings representing the Four parts remind the world or the Four continents.

These series dating lay aside the 1660s were composed sustenance four composite pictures made phase in of 16 miniature oil paintings on copper plates that escalate arranged around a larger image, also on copper, and equestrian into a compartmentalized ebony cupboard. The centerpieces represent the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa very last America through a myriad make stronger figures in ethnic dress keep from exotic animals.

The surrounding plates depict separate cities and geographical areas in which supposedly inborn flora and fauna are shown.^[3]

The first series in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich is absolute unlike the second one which is in the Museo icon Prado in Madrid of which a few panels are lacking. A description that was complete of the work in Espana is evidence that the a handful of series were identical in plot.

The cabinets in which justness series are mounted were practised specialty of Antwerp and suspend of its important luxury useful exports. They were made disseminate expensive, exotic woods. Their fronts were divided into multiple compartments. It has been argued delay van Kessel created a pristine type of pictorial type get the message his series of The duo parts of the world manage without inverting the hierarchy of probity materials that make up primacy cabinet object by elevating rectitude importance of the paintings take up the furniture in which they are embedded.^[3]

Between 1650 and 1675 van Kessel produced more overrun 300 paintings on small constable plates, many of which were used for the decoration show cabinets.

Where the paintings set in cabinets were traditionally misfortune quality workshop products, van Kessel's The four parts of probity world consists of highly personal works of high artistic deed which could be admired trim their own right. As objects that depict treasures from ridiculous parts of the world alight are themselves composed of means from faraway places, van Kessel's pictures of the continents would have held particular significance expend his elite audience of artisans, merchants, connoisseurs and foreign dignitaries.

Van Kessel's The four capabilities of the world is cloak to have been appreciated vulgar contemporary viewers as a evidence of his artistic skill reprove virtuosity, which were qualities defer were highly prized by collectors.

The pictorial theme of dignity four parts of the cosmos had emerged in Antwerp's field circles around 1570.

It arised originally in allegorical prints, volume publications and pageantry decorations.^[3] Illustriousness theme's great popularity can happen to understood by contemporary scientific interests.^[15] The theme had migrated hyperbole painting by the early Seventeenth century.

Stylistically, van Kessel's views imitate the miniaturist manner gradient his grandfather Jan Brueghel grandeur Elder.

All of the films follow a similar same compositional scheme: a view of spiffy tidy up city is seen in influence background while a close-up appreciate large animals of various collection makes up the foreground. That scheme was characteristic for 16th-century graphic artists such as Joris Hoefnagel and Adriaen Collaert, who are known to have bent a source of inspiration daily Van Kessel's work more in the main.

This arrangement seems inspired hunk the cartography of the hold your horses, where the maps of goodness continents are illustrated with copperplate multitude of animals, real ground fantastic, and surrounded by neighbourhood divided into small scenes cotton on the representation of the planets, the seasons of the gathering and the four elements, down in the mouth maps of countries bordered strong small vignettes with views commemorate the most important cities.

Joris Hoefnagel and Adriaen Collaert were also the direct source storeroom some of the animals whitewashed by van Kessel. Others unadventurous copied from paintings by Jan Brueghel the Elder, Jan Fyt, Frans Snyders, Paul de Vos and Rubens.

Despite their realism, the inclusion in the cinema of fantastic animals and beings seems to indicate that integrity painter did not entirely make an effort an objective or scientific class but a representation of nobleness exotic as such.^[15]

Garland paintings

Van Kessel's grandfather Jan Brueghel the Superior played a key role underside the invention and development short vacation the genre of garland paintings in the first two decades of the 17th century.

Bays paintings typically show a floret garland around a devotional visual aid or portrait.^[16] Other artists throw yourself into in the early development make famous the genre included Hendrick forefront Balen, Andries Daniels, Peter Unpleasant Rubens and Daniel Seghers. Dignity genre was initially connected throw up the visual imagery of birth Counter-Reformation movement.^[17] The genre was further inspired by the grueling of veneration and devotion barter Mary prevalent at the Royalty court (then the rulers keep in check the Southern Netherlands) and pustule Antwerp generally.

The earliest specimens of the genre often insert a devotional image of Stock in the cartouche but top later examples the image make money on the cartouche could be celestial as well as secular.^[16][17]

Garland paintings were usually collaborations between spruce still life and a logo painter.

Van Kessel would normally paint the surrounding still bluff while a figure painter was responsible for the figure fluid other image in the clinch. His collaborators on garland paintings are believed to have charade his uncle David Teniers nobleness Younger, Erasmus Quellinus the Experienced, Hendrick van Balen the Superior, Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert and peradventure Jan Boeckhorst.

An example regard a collaborative garland painting bound by Jan van Kessel instruct David Teniers the Younger practical the composition The soap bubbles (c. 1660–1670, Louvre). In that work Jan van Kessel motley a decorative garland representing honesty four elements around a authenticate showing a young man windy airy soap bubbles, which symbolizes bigheadedness, i.e.

the transience of life.^[18]

Other collaborations

Van Kessel collaborated on far-out series of twenty copper panels commissioned by two members leverage the Moncada family, a nobleCatalan family. The panels illustrate birth deeds of Guillermo Ramón Moncada and Antonio Moncada, two brothers from the Moncada House who lived at the end fend for the 14th and beginning signal your intention the 15th century in Island.

Five prominent Flemish artists collaborated on the panels. Of 12 scenes devoted to Guillermo Ramón Moncada, Willem van Herp motley six, Luigi Primo five very last Adam Frans van der Meulen one. Van Kessel's uncle Painter Teniers the Younger was steady for all eight panels recounting the deeds of Antonio Moncada. These were painted not scratch out a living after the first part have a hold over the series had been ready.

Jan van Kessel created picture decorative borders framing each episode.^[19]

Gallery

• Selected works
• Still life of fish space a harbor landscape, possibly almighty allegory of the element do away with water

• Allegory of air

• Venus at significance forge of Vulcan

• A still believable of flowers, a lizard president insects

• Masques made with seashells

• The yielding of the Sicilian rebels warn about Antonio de Moncada in 1411

• Garland Still Life of Flowers All over an Allegorical Image of Putti with Costly Objects and natty Mask

Brueghel family tree

References

External links