The Temptation of Saint Anthony

Though very little is known about the Verbeeck family, a small number of surviving paintings along with documentary evidence indicates that they were an important artistic dynasty working in Mechelen during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. In his Schilder-Boeck (1604), Karel van Mander briefly discussed the work of one of these artists, Frans Verbeeck, 'who was clever at making works in watercolor in the manner of Jeroon Bos [Hieronymus Bosch].' Van Mander went on to describe the 'ghostly details' included by the artist in a painting of Saint Christopher in Mechelen, and the 'strange spooks' in the Parable of the Vineyard which hung in the city’s Church of Sint-Katerijen (fol. 228r). These descriptions suggest something of the idiosyncratic visual ideas of the Verbeeck family. They seem to have largely been influenced by the example established by Bosch and modulated several generations later by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A number of pictures and drawings have now been attributed to Frans Verbeeck, though no signed example of his work is known. The iconography of works produced by the Verbeeck family is remarkably varied, from religious scenes like the present Temptation of Saint Anthony; satirical subjects of vernacular peasant life, such as the Peasant Wedding (Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao); or allegorical works like the Satire on human folly (private collection, sold Dorotheum, Vienna, 21 October 2014, lot 33). In total there are sixteen paintings attributed to the 'Verbeeck group'.

Archival sources reveal that several artists with the surname Verbeeck were active in Mechelen during the sixteenth century, several of whom were named Jan or Frans. The 2003 exhibition De Zote Schilders in Mechelen distinguished two generations of the Verbeeck family, bringing together thirty-three paintings, some by their followers and assistants. More recently, Maarten Bassens identified the Frans described by van Mander as Frans (II) Karelsz. Verbeeck (d. 1570), the father of Jan (III) and Karel (II), noting that he was related to a certain Jan (II) Verbeeck, who signed several drawings (M. Bassens, 'Between Bosch and Bruegel: the puzzling case of Jan II Verbeeck', Master Drawings, LIX, no. 2, 2021, pp. 148-192). Stylistically, paintings given to Jan tend to be more matte in finish, while those by Frans are more fluidly painted.

Many of the works from the Verbeeck group are painted with distemper on canvas, which seems to have been a favored technique in Mechelen. These paintings would have been seen as economic alternatives to tapestries. Regrettably, due to their fragility, many of the surviving paintings are in severely compromised states. The few extant works painted in oil, such as the present painting, are better preserved and were possibly created as prototypes, which would serve as models for numerous replicas in distemper on canvas by members of the studio.

The highly refined treatment of the figures, sophisticated palette and accomplished brushwork distinguishes the present painting from the majority of surviving works given to the Verbeeck group, suggesting that it belongs to the earlier, first generation of artists. Accordingly, it should be dated to circa 1550-60. Our painting possibly served as a model for another, larger version of the painting (83.5 x 120.5 cm.), executed in distemper on canvas, that was owned by Charles de Pauw until 1986 and today is in a private collection in Brussels. A lower quality, likely studio version of the composition, also on canvas but with variations, is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.