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Portrait présumé de Cornelis Jacobsz. Schout (vers 1570-après 1621) en porte-étendard de la garde civile de Haarlem, en pied
Details
CORNELIS CORNELISZ. VAN HAARLEM (HAARLEM 1562-1638)
Portrait présumé de Cornelis Jacobsz. Schout (vers 1570-après 1621) en porte-étendard de la garde civile de Haarlem, en pied
daté 'A[n] 1592' (en bas, à droite)
avec les armes rapportées de la famille Mering (en bas, à droite)
huile sur toile
206 x 142 cm (81 1⁄8 x 55 7⁄8 in.)
Portrait présumé de Cornelis Jacobsz. Schout (vers 1570-après 1621) en porte-étendard de la garde civile de Haarlem, en pied
daté 'A[n] 1592' (en bas, à droite)
avec les armes rapportées de la famille Mering (en bas, à droite)
huile sur toile
206 x 142 cm (81 1⁄8 x 55 7⁄8 in.)
Provenance
Collection Mering (selon le blason rapporté au tableau).
Carlo Marochetti (1806-1867), château de Vaux-sur-Seine, Yvelines ;
Puis par descendance aux actuels propriétaires.
Carlo Marochetti (1806-1867), château de Vaux-sur-Seine, Yvelines ;
Puis par descendance aux actuels propriétaires.
Further Details
CORNELIS CORNELISZ. VAN HAARLEM (1562-1638), A STANDARD-BEARER, POSSIBLY CORNELIS JACOBSZ. SCHOUT, FULL-LENGTH, OIL ON CANVAS, DATED (LOWER RIGHT)
Painted in 1592, when Cornelis van Haarlem (1562-1638) was fully established as one of the preeminent Haarlem artists, this sumptuous standard-bearer, set against the swirls of his proudly flying flag, stands as testament to the power the artist brought to his work. With his arm akimbo, our model embodies all the vigour of youth and the assurance of his rank.
While posterity tends to think of van Haarlem's work as a Mannerist fantasy world of sinuous figures and vivid colors, a closer look at his work reveals his genius for portraiture and the special place of the standard-bearer in his corpus. After a brief stay in Antwerp, where he studied with Gillis Conget (1538-1599), Cornelis settled permanently in his native Haarlem around 1580. In 1583, he met Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617) and Carel van Mander (1548-1606), with whom he founded the Haarlem Academy the same year. This institution was inspired by the Florentine Academy created by Giorgio Vasari (1511-1578), and its originality lay in the use of life models rather than sculpture when studying the human form.
It was also in 1583, clearly an annus mirabilis for the painter, that he received his first major commission: a group portrait of the members of the Haarlem Civil Guard, now in the Frans Hals Museum (Fig. 1, Haarlem, inv. os i-48). This painting, remarkable for its daring composition that places the standard-bearer in the middle of the group with his back to the viewer, also happens to be the very first group portrait of the Haarlem Civil Guard. Though it had been used as a genre since the first half of the century by the militia guards, the boards of directors and the regents of the Amsterdam guilds (here we can cite for instance the 1553 painting by Cornelis Anthonisz. [d.1553], the Banquet of Members of Amsterdam's Crossbow Civic Guard [Amsterdam Museum, inv. SA 7279]), their compatriots in Haarlem waited until after the turbulent years of the1570s were over before embarking on similar projects.
The immediate success of this painting ensured further commissions for the sought-after artist, who subsequently painted four more group portraits of the Civil Guard and a second banquet in 1599 (Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, inv. os I-53). His innovative pictorial stagecraft clearly made an impression on the young Frans Hals (1580⁄1583-1666),as the echo of his 1583 work can be found in Hals' first major commission, the Banquet of the Officers of the St George Militia Company in 1616 and, later, in a painting of the same title in 1627 (both: Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, inv. os I-109 and os I-110), in which the standard-bearer plays the same fundamental role in the composition.
At the centre of van Haarlem's composition is a young man with rounded features, wearing a white silk jacket. He is shaking hands with his interlocutor and pointing to himself with his left hand. Thanks to a list drawn up in the eighteenth century in the headquarters of the Haarlem Civil Guard, which gives the names of the models in their paintings, we know that this person is Cornelis Jacobsz. Schout (c.1570-after 1621) (see P. J. J. van Thiel, Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem, 1562-1638. A Monograph and Catalogue Raisonné, Doornspijk, 1999, p. 387). A careful comparison of Schout's features with those of the model in the present painting suggests that they are one and the same person. The two faces share a singular rounded profile, button nose, and both have eyes of a remarkable dark blue.
Very little is known about Schout's life. We can only assume that he became a standard-bearer in the Haarlem Civil Guard between 1583 and 1592. Since, in the army, the standard-bearer served as the emblem of his troop and always wore a colourful costume that made him easy to identify, he was a prime target for enemy soldiers. For this reason, the honour was always bestowed on a bachelor, whether in a military or civilian context. Schout's marriage must therefore have taken place after 1592. This union produced at least one son, Jacob (c.1600-after 1627). Both father and son appear in Frans Hals's Banquet of 1616, in which Jacob takes up his father's former position as standard-bearer, a role he filled between 1612 and 1627. Hals' painting shows an older Cornelis, now bald, sharing a knowing look with his son. We also know that Schout's brother Pieter (1570-1645) was mayor of Haarlem four times and captain of the Civil Guard between 1600 and 1603.
While the militia group portrait is part of a tradition dating back to the early sixteenth century, this is not the case for the individual portrait of the standard-bearer, of which the earliest known dated example of which was painted in 1590. This portrait, which unfortunately remains anonymous, depicts Hendrick Jansz. Spijcker, half-length. His costume and proud bearing are reminiscent of the painting by van Haarlem (Alte Pinakothek, Munich, inv. 1315). Prior to the discovery of the present painting, the next known portrait of this type to be dated was that of Willem Jansz. Cock, painted in 1617 by Everard van der Maes (1577-1647), closely followed by the Portrait of a Standard-Bearer by Joachim Houckgeest (1585-1644), executed in 1621 (both: Haags Historisch Museum, The Hague, inv. 0029-SCH and 1862-0005-SCH).
Since van Haarlem was a pioneer in this type of painting, it is possible that the composition of this portrait owes some of its panache not to the influences of the painted works that preceded it, but to the engravings of his great friend, Hendrick Goltzius. Indeed, the artist borrowed the sitter's swaggering stance and the swirling flag from two depictions of a standard-bearer engraved by Goltzius in 1587 (Fig. 2), both of which were in turn heavily influenced by the work of Bartholomeus Spranger (1546-1611).
These engravings were a great success with the public, who were proud of the military prowess of Dutch soldiers against the Spanish during the Eighty Years' War, whose battles ravaged the Seventeen Provinces of the Spanish Netherlands between 1568 and 1648. The symbolic patriotism embodied by the standard-bearer is underlined by the inscription on one of the engravings. It reads: Signifer ingentes animos et corda ministro; me stat stante phalanx, me fugiente fugit ('I, the standard-bearer, provide courage and daring; while I stand firm the line holds, if I were to flee, it would flee'). Our standard-bearer can therefore be understood as both the portrait of a young man and the expression of a national sentiment.
CARLO MAROCHETTI, A COLLECTOR UNLIKE OTHERS
The sculptor Carlo Marochetti (1806-1867) enjoyed great renown during his lifetime, and left the countries associated with his career - Italy, France and England - three major works that can still be admired today: in his native Turin there is the Equestrian Statue of Emmanuel-Philibert, Duke of Savoy (1838), which earned him the title of Baron; in Paris, the High Altar of the Madeleine church (1843); and in London, the Equestrian Statue of Richard the Lionheart (1851), which stands in front of the Houses of Parliament, sword held high.
He spent the last twenty years of his life in the English capital, where he was one of the founding members of the Fine Arts Club (later the Burlington Fine Arts Club). His extensive collection of engravings was put up for sale on his death, while his two sons divided up the paintings and objets d'art that were to be passed down from generation to generation in the Château de Vaux-sur-Seine (Fig. 3), where the sculptor's creative flair can still be felt to this day.
Painted in 1592, when Cornelis van Haarlem (1562-1638) was fully established as one of the preeminent Haarlem artists, this sumptuous standard-bearer, set against the swirls of his proudly flying flag, stands as testament to the power the artist brought to his work. With his arm akimbo, our model embodies all the vigour of youth and the assurance of his rank.
While posterity tends to think of van Haarlem's work as a Mannerist fantasy world of sinuous figures and vivid colors, a closer look at his work reveals his genius for portraiture and the special place of the standard-bearer in his corpus. After a brief stay in Antwerp, where he studied with Gillis Conget (1538-1599), Cornelis settled permanently in his native Haarlem around 1580. In 1583, he met Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617) and Carel van Mander (1548-1606), with whom he founded the Haarlem Academy the same year. This institution was inspired by the Florentine Academy created by Giorgio Vasari (1511-1578), and its originality lay in the use of life models rather than sculpture when studying the human form.
It was also in 1583, clearly an annus mirabilis for the painter, that he received his first major commission: a group portrait of the members of the Haarlem Civil Guard, now in the Frans Hals Museum (Fig. 1, Haarlem, inv. os i-48). This painting, remarkable for its daring composition that places the standard-bearer in the middle of the group with his back to the viewer, also happens to be the very first group portrait of the Haarlem Civil Guard. Though it had been used as a genre since the first half of the century by the militia guards, the boards of directors and the regents of the Amsterdam guilds (here we can cite for instance the 1553 painting by Cornelis Anthonisz. [d.1553], the Banquet of Members of Amsterdam's Crossbow Civic Guard [Amsterdam Museum, inv. SA 7279]), their compatriots in Haarlem waited until after the turbulent years of the1570s were over before embarking on similar projects.
The immediate success of this painting ensured further commissions for the sought-after artist, who subsequently painted four more group portraits of the Civil Guard and a second banquet in 1599 (Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, inv. os I-53). His innovative pictorial stagecraft clearly made an impression on the young Frans Hals (1580⁄1583-1666),as the echo of his 1583 work can be found in Hals' first major commission, the Banquet of the Officers of the St George Militia Company in 1616 and, later, in a painting of the same title in 1627 (both: Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, inv. os I-109 and os I-110), in which the standard-bearer plays the same fundamental role in the composition.
At the centre of van Haarlem's composition is a young man with rounded features, wearing a white silk jacket. He is shaking hands with his interlocutor and pointing to himself with his left hand. Thanks to a list drawn up in the eighteenth century in the headquarters of the Haarlem Civil Guard, which gives the names of the models in their paintings, we know that this person is Cornelis Jacobsz. Schout (c.1570-after 1621) (see P. J. J. van Thiel, Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem, 1562-1638. A Monograph and Catalogue Raisonné, Doornspijk, 1999, p. 387). A careful comparison of Schout's features with those of the model in the present painting suggests that they are one and the same person. The two faces share a singular rounded profile, button nose, and both have eyes of a remarkable dark blue.
Very little is known about Schout's life. We can only assume that he became a standard-bearer in the Haarlem Civil Guard between 1583 and 1592. Since, in the army, the standard-bearer served as the emblem of his troop and always wore a colourful costume that made him easy to identify, he was a prime target for enemy soldiers. For this reason, the honour was always bestowed on a bachelor, whether in a military or civilian context. Schout's marriage must therefore have taken place after 1592. This union produced at least one son, Jacob (c.1600-after 1627). Both father and son appear in Frans Hals's Banquet of 1616, in which Jacob takes up his father's former position as standard-bearer, a role he filled between 1612 and 1627. Hals' painting shows an older Cornelis, now bald, sharing a knowing look with his son. We also know that Schout's brother Pieter (1570-1645) was mayor of Haarlem four times and captain of the Civil Guard between 1600 and 1603.
While the militia group portrait is part of a tradition dating back to the early sixteenth century, this is not the case for the individual portrait of the standard-bearer, of which the earliest known dated example of which was painted in 1590. This portrait, which unfortunately remains anonymous, depicts Hendrick Jansz. Spijcker, half-length. His costume and proud bearing are reminiscent of the painting by van Haarlem (Alte Pinakothek, Munich, inv. 1315). Prior to the discovery of the present painting, the next known portrait of this type to be dated was that of Willem Jansz. Cock, painted in 1617 by Everard van der Maes (1577-1647), closely followed by the Portrait of a Standard-Bearer by Joachim Houckgeest (1585-1644), executed in 1621 (both: Haags Historisch Museum, The Hague, inv. 0029-SCH and 1862-0005-SCH).
Since van Haarlem was a pioneer in this type of painting, it is possible that the composition of this portrait owes some of its panache not to the influences of the painted works that preceded it, but to the engravings of his great friend, Hendrick Goltzius. Indeed, the artist borrowed the sitter's swaggering stance and the swirling flag from two depictions of a standard-bearer engraved by Goltzius in 1587 (Fig. 2), both of which were in turn heavily influenced by the work of Bartholomeus Spranger (1546-1611).
These engravings were a great success with the public, who were proud of the military prowess of Dutch soldiers against the Spanish during the Eighty Years' War, whose battles ravaged the Seventeen Provinces of the Spanish Netherlands between 1568 and 1648. The symbolic patriotism embodied by the standard-bearer is underlined by the inscription on one of the engravings. It reads: Signifer ingentes animos et corda ministro; me stat stante phalanx, me fugiente fugit ('I, the standard-bearer, provide courage and daring; while I stand firm the line holds, if I were to flee, it would flee'). Our standard-bearer can therefore be understood as both the portrait of a young man and the expression of a national sentiment.
CARLO MAROCHETTI, A COLLECTOR UNLIKE OTHERS
The sculptor Carlo Marochetti (1806-1867) enjoyed great renown during his lifetime, and left the countries associated with his career - Italy, France and England - three major works that can still be admired today: in his native Turin there is the Equestrian Statue of Emmanuel-Philibert, Duke of Savoy (1838), which earned him the title of Baron; in Paris, the High Altar of the Madeleine church (1843); and in London, the Equestrian Statue of Richard the Lionheart (1851), which stands in front of the Houses of Parliament, sword held high.
He spent the last twenty years of his life in the English capital, where he was one of the founding members of the Fine Arts Club (later the Burlington Fine Arts Club). His extensive collection of engravings was put up for sale on his death, while his two sons divided up the paintings and objets d'art that were to be passed down from generation to generation in the Château de Vaux-sur-Seine (Fig. 3), where the sculptor's creative flair can still be felt to this day.
Brought to you by
Olivia Ghosh
Specialist