17th Century Belgian Sculpture

1. Belgian sculptors of the first half of the century

In the first half of the century, Belgian sculpture was developed in close connection with Italian, many Belgian masters become noticeable values ​​in Italy. as well as in Spain and France. However, at this stage there are difficulties in identifying the styles of various masters due to the strong uniformity of the images.

The outstanding abilities of southern Dutch to sculpture, inherited from the times of Sluter and Verve to our contemporaries Meunier and Vanderstappen, remained at a considerable height during the 17th century. We can further say that Belgium during this period played a leading role in the field of plastics on the whole side of the Alps. If the Belgian sculptors, like Giovanni da Bologna and Francois Duquesnoy, were recognized as the best Italian masters in Italy itself, if in the person of Juan de Huni Flanders gave Spain one of their most talented sculptors, now such large Dutch sculptors like Ostal and Bauert have become in Paris, the French, and Flemish sculptors dominated not only German, English and Scandinavian, but, as we shall see, the Dutch plastics of this century. In Belgium itself, hundreds of sculptors found profitably paid occupation. Numerous churches, old and new, were now decorated outside and inside with rich plastic decoration. In all the main churches were erected tombs of noble persons, the sarcophagi of which, decorated with the lying images of the dead, were sometimes placed under a magnificent canopy on the columns, surrounded by allegorical figures. The decoration of the altars, the main decoration of which, however, were now paintings, still left enough space for sculptural works. Then the Lettners, pulpits, organ railings followed; even on the columns and pillars of the main nave, the apostles' figures were often placed in flowing garments. It is impossible, of course, to deny that these baroque additions often very much harmed the general impression of the Gothic churches. For secular buildings, namely the town hall and the guild houses, plastic decorations were also required. The Belgian sculpture, however, excluding the portrait figures of sarcophagi with portrait busts that breathed individual life, had a predominantly decorative character. Separate works that could capture the viewer are rare, and it is precisely the beloved sculptors that usually lack a clearly expressed self, so it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between individual artists, often working together on the same work.

The diligence of the Belgian archival researchers, expressed in the thorough book of Marshall and in the above-mentioned works on local art history, managed to document the names and life history of the masters of the best sculptural works. But in terms of the history of the development of art, only a few of them matter. Almost everyone pulls the same string. All work in the spirit of Dobernien's Italian Italian baroque style, in which the influence of Rubens introduced a more fresh life and a more grandiose scale from the thirties. The general history of art should be limited to a few leading masters.

We cannot return to Giovanni da Bologna, who died in 1608.

The older Dutch masters are adjoined in Flanders primarily by sculptors of the name Colin de Nole (Colyns de Nole). The brothers Jean and Robert Colin de Zero moved from Cambrai to Antwerp. Our attention is stopped only by the son of Jean Andreas Colin de Zero, who sculptured between 1630 and 1635. ten large figures of the apostles of the Mehelnian cathedral in the free middle style of the 17th century. Along with him, a German from Koenigsberg, Jan Mildert, died in Antwerp (died in 1638), who, according to Rubens' painting, performed a gravestone monument of the de Mua family in the cathedral. Standing figures of Mary, John the Evangelist and St.. Catherine, decorating him, show that he was at least a good carver in stone. Alongside and in part, together with Mildert, he worked in Antwerp Erasmus Quellinus (Quellin) Sr., originally from Walloon, who died around 1640. His work is an impressive pulpit in the Valpurgis church in Bruges, supported by a kneeling figure of the faith. We mention him mainly because he was the father of the great sculptor Argus (or Arnu) Quellinus the Elder, who seems to have studied in Rome with the Brussels sprout, Duquenois.

Duquesnoy in Brussels are thus the masters with whom the further development of Belgian sculpture actually began. Jerome Duquesnoy the Elder, who died in Brussels in 1641 or 1642, was the father of two famous brothers Duquesnoy. The eldest of them, Francois Duquesnoy (1594–1642), became Roman in Rome, joining his friend Nicolas Poussin to the more strict direction. The younger one, Jerome Duquenois (1602-1544), soon followed his brother, whose student he is considered to Italy, but after his death he returned to his homeland, which keeps his best works. That, in his youth, a Dutch-realistic sourdough wandered about in him, shows his often mentioned funny little figure "Mannequin Peace" (1619) in Brussels. He returned, however, from Italy as a master in the spirit of the Italian late Renaissance, as indicated by his four large standing figures of the apostles (Paul, Matthew, Bartholomew and Thomas) in the main nave of the cathedral, a dignified figure in the growth of St. Ursula in Notre Dame de Victoire and the expressive figure of St.. Magdalene in the Royal Park in Brussels. His best work is the magnificent tomb of Bishop Anton Trieste in Saint-Bavaux in Rent. On the background of black marble structures stand out figures of white marble. The figure of the living bishop, slightly raised, rests on the sarcophagus. In the niche behind his head stands Mary's intercessor, and in the niche in front of his feet is the figure of the Savior with the cross drawn to him, in a powerful movement, conceived apparently under the strong influence of the Michelangean Christ in Santa Maria, Sopra Minor in Rome. This master, who suffered a terrible fate - burning in the bread market in Rent for a crime against morality - was not able to finish his work to the end.

Fig. 147. The tomb of Bishop Anton Trieste, the work of Jerome Duquenois. By photography ed. Zeemana in Leipzig

Another good pupil of Francois Duquinoy in Rome was Rombout Pauwels of Mecheln (1625–1700), whose best work, the tombstone of Bishop Charles Maes in the same Ghent church, presents a sleeping bishop leaning on his left arm. The monument gives the impression of greater sophistication and weakness than that of Jerome Duquenois.

2. Sculptors of the second half of the century

The Duquenois gave Belgium a number of outstanding followers who worked with both the church and the ancient themes. The cultural centers of Belgium during this period were Brussels, Antwerp and Mecheln, where there was a separate school for the Federb family. Also in the second half of the century, Bernini had a strong influence on Belgian sculpture.

The most remarkable student of Francois Duquinoy was Argus Quellinus the Elder (1609–1668). After receiving his first lessons from his father, he went to Rome. Upon returning to his homeland (1640), he naturally could not escape the influence of Rubens. However, in general, he was able to independently combine the pursuit of Italian beauty with the Dutch truthfulness and softened baroque influence. The best and greatest work of his life is the interior and exterior sculptural decoration (1648–1655) of the new Amsterdam Town Hall, which acquired artistic significance only thanks to the sculptures of Quellinus, in which he is at that time at the highest point in the development of his own sense of nature, understanding of beauty and technical mastery. . His senior students, Rombout Fergülst from Mecheln and Argus Quellinus the Younger, his nephew, also worked next to him. The description of the activities of this master in Amsterdam, however, we must relate to the history of Dutch art. The fact that he created after 1655 in Antwerp, surrounded here also by students, of whom Peter Verbruggen the Elder, Lodevik Willemssens and Gabriel Grupello deserve mention, does not appear before us in such finished splendor as his Amsterdam work. While in Amsterdam, Quellinus devoted himself to ancient mythology and history, allegory and portrait sculpture, in Antwerp, he again engaged himself mainly in church plastic art. The tombstone of Jan Gevertu in the cathedral, with the bust of the deceased between the figures of justice and wisdom, was carved by the project of Rubens, and his “Grieving Virgin Mary” and “St. Anthony ”belong to the sculptural works painted according to the old fashion, which have not yet died out in Belgium. In the church of Jacob he owns the noble statue of Jacob in stature, above the entrance to the Plantin Hercules Museum with the goddess of Glory, and in the main museum there is a beautiful wooden statue of St. Sebastian and the expressive bust of the Marquis Kerasen (1664). In the Brussels Cathedral there is a beautiful Madonna of his work. Everything that he undertook, has not so much spirit and soul, as many hands and feet, but always bears the imprint of an artistic power that beats the key.

The oldest pupil and peer of Quellinus was his brother-in-law Peter Verbruggen the Elder (1609–1686), who worked for almost all the Antwerp churches. Among his most famous works is “St. Cecilia "on the balustrade of the organ in the cathedral. Even more prolific was his son Gendrik Verbrugggen (1655-1724), the author of the alabaster relief in the Mystery Chapel of the Antwerp Cathedral and the main altar of Saint Bavaux in Ghent, crowned with the majestic statue of this saint. Its beautiful, wood-carved department of the Brussels Cathedral (1699), transferred here from the Jesuit church in Leuven, shows the expulsion from paradise with dramatic clarity and in a noble language of forms. The second student of Ferbrugggen Sr. was Matthäus van Beveren (1630–1690), whose best work, the tombstone of Admiral Claudius Count Thurn and Taxis (1678), is located in Notre Dame de Victoire in Brussels and is clothed in fairly pure forms. The third student of Peter Verbrugen was Peter Shemekers (1640–1714). The grim tombstone of Marquis Del Pico, awakening on the sarcophagus in horror in front of two skeletons, was transferred from the Citadel Church to the Gertruda Chapel in the Church of James in Antwerp.

Returning to the pupils of Argus Quellinus, we must rank Romboot Fergülst (1624–1696) as Dutch sculptors, since he stayed in Holland, and Argus Quellinus Jr. (1625–1700), who had returned with his teacher to Antwerp, leave this city they are decorated with numerous church sculptures, deprived, however, of the strong language of the forms of his uncle. His best work is a tombstone to the Bishop of Capello who died in 1676 in the cathedral. Of the younger students of the old Quellinus, Lodewik Willemssens (1630–1702) worked for the church of Jacob in Antwerp, whose chair, with evangelists and symbolic figures, is his best work, and Gabriel Grupello (1644–1730; Schaarshmidt’s work), to his early works belongs the still-lifeless tombstone of the Countess Thurn and Taxis who died in 1677 at Notre-Dame de Victoire in Brussels, in 1695 moved to Düsseldorf, where he performed the service of Johann Wilhelm, Elector of Palatinate, a baroque bronze equestrian monument Latter.

Along with Dukenois in Brussels, the Federby in Mecheln worked with the Quellinuses in Antwerp. Already brothers Henri and Antoine Federby (first 1574–1629, second 1585–1653) were excellent, many sculptors who worked. But only Henri’s son and pupil, Luka Federb, later known as an architect, breathed new life and a bright identity not only into Mereln, but also into all Flemish sculpture. He appeared in Antwerp with Rubens in 1636 and became his favorite student. Among the Flemish architects and sculptors, he is a true follower of Rubens. He united the traditional language of forms more comprehensively than almost all of his predecessors, with the trait of free greatness, and the noticeable taste of the Baroque does not harm it. The magnificent statue of James the Elder in the Brussels Cathedral was completed in 1636, followed by the statue of Simon in 1640. In 1651 he was commissioned to build the tombstone of the Counts Thurn and Taxis in Notre-Dame de Victoire in Brussels, but he transferred the performance of individual parts to Matthäus van Beveren and his pupil Jan van Delen. A number of his best works are located in the Romuald Cathedral in Mecheln: from 1665, of black and white marble, the main altar, above which stands a large and expressively executed figure in the growth of St. Romuald; from 1669 the tombstone of Archbishop Anton Cruysen, depicted on his knees before the resurrected Christ; from 1675 expressive group of sv. Carla Borromeo with the plague patient. The best works of him are in the Notre-Dame-d'Ansvik church he built in Mecheln, which is reminiscent of the Church of St. Gereona in Cologne: above the entrance door is Mary with the baby; under the dome are two powerful semicircular reliefs with the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Fall of the Savior under the Weight of the Cross, executed touchingly, picturesquely and visually.

Luka Federb, as a sculptor, also had a significant influence. Of his students, his son Jan Luka Federb (1654–1704) was more an architect and theorist than a sculptor, Nikolai van Veken (1637–1704) performed a pleasant carved confessional in the church of Peter and Paul and a beautiful seated statue of the Savior in 1688 in Mechelsky the cathedral; Jan van Delen (died in 1703) five luxurious confessions and an allegorical figure decorated with the tomb of Jacques d'Ennetier in the Brussels cathedral, and Jan Frans Böxtuins (1650–1734) visionary, already in the spirit of Bernini, finished only in the XVIII century, the image the sky above the altar with the Crucifixion in the church of sv. Wives on the other side of Dilya in Mecheln.

The real student of Bernini in Rome was Jean Delcourt from Gamoire (1627–1707), who in 1657 adorned the Luttikh churches with spectacular statues. For his free and easy manner, the twelve round marble frames of the Church of Sts. Martina, representing the foundation of the feast of the Body of Christ. The beautiful bronze Christ of 1663 in the cathedral shows him as a master caster, and “Christ in the tomb” (1696) in the same church - as a master of soft and spectacular marble processing. The tombstone of Bishop Eugene Albert d'Alamon in Saint-Bavaux in Ghent (later 1673), with the figure of a bishop on his knees before Madonna, who is in the wall niche, with an angel with a sword in the wall niche behind the bishop and death in the form of a skeleton next to It belongs to the most spectacular and freshly shaped monuments of the era.

This review is enough to give an idea not only about abundance and pomp, but also about the monotony of the Belgian cathedral sculpture of the XVII century. With all the monotony, we notice, however, for a century a certain development, leading from strict to more free, from free to stilted, from stilted to more light and pleasant expression and execution.