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Lot Essay
The history painter and portraitist Gerrit Pietersz. Sweelinck was born into an artistic family in Amsterdam (his brother, Jan, was a famed organist and composer). According to van Mander, Sweelinck studied with Jan Lenartsz. before beginning his apprenticeship with Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem in 1590. Sweelinck traveled to Antwerp and Rome around 1594-5, after which he returned to Amsterdam where he remained until his death in 1612. His most famous pupil was Pieter Lastman.
Sweelinck's style is very close to that of van Haarlem and their works have often been confused, as has been the case with Perseus and Andromeda. A similar composition by van Mander is recorded in an engraving by Jacques de Gheyn (Hollstein, IV, no. 422). Both give prominence to Andromeda's parents and the on-lookers by placing them in the foreground, relegating Perseus and Andromeda to the middle ground.
We are grateful to Christina J. A. Wansink of the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague, for confirming the present attribution to Sweelinck (written communication, 19 February 1997).
Sweelinck's style is very close to that of van Haarlem and their works have often been confused, as has been the case with Perseus and Andromeda. A similar composition by van Mander is recorded in an engraving by Jacques de Gheyn (Hollstein, IV, no. 422). Both give prominence to Andromeda's parents and the on-lookers by placing them in the foreground, relegating Perseus and Andromeda to the middle ground.
We are grateful to Christina J. A. Wansink of the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague, for confirming the present attribution to Sweelinck (written communication, 19 February 1997).