Abraham Govaerts - Forest View with Travellers

Abraham Govaerts (1589 – 9 September 1626) was a Flemish painter who specialized in small cabinet-sized forest

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

s in the manner of

Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder ( , ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painting, Flemish painter and Draughtsmanship, draughtsman. He was the younger son of the eminent Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, Flemish ...

and

Gillis van Coninxloo Gillis van Coninxloo (now also referred to as Gillis van Coninxloo II but previously referred to as Gillis van Coninxloo III) (24 January 1544 – January 1607) was a Flemish painter of landscapes who played an important role in the development ...

. He was a regular collaborator with other artists who were specialists in specific genres. Govaerts would paint the landscape while these specialists painted the figures, animals or still life elements.Hans Vlieghe (1998).
Flemish Art and Architecture, 1585–1700
'. Pelican History of Art. New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 180–181.

Life

He was born in Antwerp where his father was an art dealer. There is no information on his training. In view of the influence on his early oeuvre of Jan Brueghel the Elder, some believe he may have apprenticed in the latter's workshop but there is no evidence for this.Abraham Govaerts and Sebastiaen Vrancx, ''An elegant couple strolling through the forest''
at Gallerie Lowet de Wotrenge He became a master in Antwerp's

Guild of Saint Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was iden ...

in 1607–1608. He married Isabella Gielis, with whom he had two daughters named Isabella and Suzanna. He was active throughout his career in Antwerp. He became deacon of the local Guild of Saint Luke in 1623.Abraham Govaerts
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...

He trained several artists including

Alexander Keirincx Alexander KeirincxAlexander Keirincx
at the

Hans Devisscher. "Govaerts, Abraham", ''Grove Art Online''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, ccessed 31 October 2016 He was one of the many people who died during an epidemic in Antwerp. He died on 9 September 1626 and his wife followed him in death a few days later on 13 September 1626. After his premature death, his unfinished works were completed by a number of artists including Alexander Keirincx, Jasper van der Lanen, Jasper Adriaenssens, Nicolaes Aertsens, Antoon Bellieur, Peter Meulevelt and Jan Viers.Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden, ''Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool'', Antwerpen, 1883, p. 462

Work

Abraham Govaerts - Wooded Landscape - WGA9981

Govaerts was a landscape specialist, and was known for his wooded landscapes which included a diminutive

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

mythological Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

subject or a hunting scene. His landscapes initially followed the

Mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

style of the three-colour ''

world landscape The world landscape, a translation of the German ''Weltlandschaft'', is a type of composition in Western painting showing an imaginary panoramic landscape seen from an elevated viewpoint that includes mountains and lowlands, water, and buildings. ...

'' in which the figures are bracketed by

repoussoir In two-dimensional works of art, such as painting, printmaking, photography or bas-relief, ''repoussoir'' (, ''pushing back'') is an object along the right or left foreground that directs the viewer's eye into the composition by bracketing (Frami ...

trees. His palette at the time exaggerated the brown foreground and the blue tones in the foliage. An example is the composition ''Diana and Actaeon'' (

Pushkin Museum The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (, abbreviated as , ''GMII'') is the largest museum of European art in Moscow. It is located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatos ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

). Another major influence was the landscape painter Gillis van Coninxloo. A painting entitled '' Landscape with River Vale and Falcon Hunt'' (

Museum Mayer van den Bergh Museum Mayer van den Bergh is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium, the collection of which is based on the vast collection of the art dealer and collector Fritz Mayer van den Bergh (1858–1901). The majority of the art works and objects are from the Go ...

, Antwerp) is inspired by the work of

Joos de Momper Joos de Momper the Younger or Joost de Momper the Younger (1564February5, 1635) was a Flemish landscape painter active in Antwerp between the late 16th century and the early 17th century. Brueghel's influence is clearly evident in many of de Momp ...

. From 1620 onwards the Mannerist aspect of his palette was replaced by pure and brilliant colours applied in light stippling. He juxtaposed various colours to achieve gradual shading and gentle transitions. This style was more reminiscent of the work of Jan Breughel the Elder. He strived for a dynamic effect in his work by placing dramatic and contorted tree trunks in the foreground and using stark light–dark effects. As was common at the time, Govaerts often collaborated with other artists who were specialists in specific genres. Govaerts would take care of the landscape while these specialists painted the figures, animals or still life elements. He collaborated often with members of the

Francken The Francken family was a family of artists the members of which were mainly active in Antwerp in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of the members over three generations had the same first names Frans, Hieronymus and Ambrosius. While this may at ...

family such as Frans Francken the Younger and

Ambrosius Francken I Ambrosius Francken I (1544–1618) was a Flemish painter known for his religious works and historical allegories painted in a late Mannerist style. He was a prominent member of the Francken family of artists, which played a very important ro ...

. Other collaborators included

Sebastiaen Vrancx Sebastiaen Vrancx (; before 22 January 1573 – 19 May 1647) was a Flemish Baroque painter, draughtsman and designer of prints who is mainly known for his battle scenes, a genre that he pioneered in Netherlandish painting. He also created lands ...

and

Hendrick van Balen Hendrick van Balen or Hendrick van Balen I (c. 1573–1575 – 17 July 1632) was a Flemish Baroque painter and stained glass designer. Hendrick van Balen specialised in small cabinet pictures often painted on a copper support. His favourite ...

.Abraham Govaerts and Hendrik van Balen, ''Bacchus, Venus and Ceres, an allegory of Autumn''
at Christie's An example of such a collaboration is the composition '' An elegant couple strolling through the forest'' where Govaerts had the assistance of

who painted the figures and dog in the landscape. A landscape composition painted in collaboration with

Frans Francken the Younger Frans Francken the Younger (1581, Antwerp – 6 May 1642, Antwerp) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish painter and the best-known and most prolific member of the large Francken family of artists.

(Château de Compiègne) showing an open view of a river is uncharacteristic for his oeuvre.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Govaerts, Abraham Flemish Baroque painters Flemish landscape painters 1589 births 1626 deaths Painters from Antwerp