David Rijckaert - Stilleven met gebraden kapoen - 0272 - Rijksmuseum Twenthe

David Rijckaert II (1586 in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

– 1642 in Antwerp) was a Flemish painter and art dealer active in Antwerp. He contributed to the early development of still lifes as an independent genre through his delicate rendering of banquets and sumptuous tabletop still lifes.

Life

David Rijckaert II was born in Antwerp in 1586 as the oldest child of David Rijckaert the Elder and Catharina Rem. As the family was Protestant, young David was not baptized in a Catholic church. After the restrictions on Protestants became tighter, his parents reconverted to Catholicism and had David baptized in the

Antwerp Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's seat of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been 'completed'. It was construct ...

following Catholic rites on 9 August 1589. This was a few days before they married each other for a second time in a Catholic church.Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden, ''Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool'', Antwerpen, 1883, p. 601-603 David Rijckaert II
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 ...

David the Elder was a brewer and a painter of wooden statues who had become a master of the Antwerp

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 1585.Bernadette Van Haute. ''David III Ryckaert: A Seventeenth-Century Flemish Painter of Peasant Scenes.'' Volume 1, Doctoral thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Literature and Philosophy at the University of South Africa, November 1996, pp. 10-12 He is also mentioned as a dealer in paintings. David Rijckaert II had 7 younger siblings of whom

Marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...

(born in 1587) became a prominent landscape painter. David trained with his father and became a master painter of the Antwerp

in the guild year 1607–1608.Ph. Rombouts and Th. van Lerius, ''De liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche sint Lucasgilde''
Volume 1, Antwerp, 1864, p. 443 David Rijckaert II spent his entire career in Antwerp. He married Catharina de Merre on 19 July 1608. The couple had at least two children: Catharina in 1610 and

David III David III Kuropalates (, ''Davit’ III Kurapalati'') or David III the Great (დავით III დიდი, ''Davit’ III Didi''), also known as David II, (c. 930s – 1000/1001) was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid family of Tao, a hist ...

in 1612. Some records note a second daughter Martina born in 1616. David Rijckaert II appears not to have achieved great success as a painter. He likely worked as an art dealer to supplement his income. He never had sufficient resources to buy a property. Nevertheless, he must have enjoyed a good reputation among fellow artists as the young

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

collaborated with him on the ''Sleeping Silenus'' (circa 1611,

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

). Ryckaert was tasked with adding the glasses, metalwork and porcelain to the composition of Rubens. A third artist painted in the grapes. Peter Paul Rubens - Sleeping Silenus

He died in 1642 in Antwerp where he was buried on 3 October of that year. After he was buried on 3 October 1642 his small estate was confiscated. David Rijckaert II was the teacher of his son David III, who became a prominent

genre painter Genre painting (or petit genre) is the painting of genre art, which depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity ca ...

. Even though not registered as such at the Guild,

Gonzales Coques Gonzales Coques (between 1614 and 1618 – 18 April 1684) was a Flemish painter of portraits and history paintings.Veronique van Passel, "Coques ocks; Cox Gonzales onsael; Gonsalo, ''Grove Art Online''. Oxford University Press,

genre scenes Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...

. The current view is that he did not paint landscapes as the attribution of landscapes to him was the result of a mix-up with his brother Marten, a prominent landscape painter. The genre scenes formerly attributed to him are now held to be by the hand of his son David III. It was only in 1995 when Christie's offered the :File:David Rijckaert II - Still life with shells with a nautilus, vases, glasses and Chinese porcelain.jpg">''Still life with shells with a nautilus, vases, glasses and Chinese porcelain'', which was signed and dated 'DAVIDT.RYCKAERTS. / .1616.' for sale that the art historian Fred Meijer identified the artist of the piece as David Rijckaert II. This led to the conclusion that David Rijckaert II was in fact a specialist still life painter rather than a landscape or genre painter.David Rijckaert (II) (1586–1642), ''A stoneware ewer, a Berkemeyer and a conical glass in a bekerschroef, with confectionary in a silver platter, on a ledge''
at Christie’s David Rijckaert II remains to date a relatively mysterious and obscure artist since art historians are still in the process of putting together his œuvre from a few signed works. New attributions still occur such as in 2009 when the ''Still life with a lemon and capon'' in the

Rijksmuseum Twenthe The Rijksmuseum Twenthe in Enschede, the Netherlands, was founded in 1927 by textile industry Baron Jan Bernard Van Heek. He donated his own private collection and the museum building to the government, thus making it a national museum. The muse ...

was attributed to Ryckaert. There are currently only about 15 still lifes attributed to David Rijckaert II. As his style is close to that of the leading Antwerp still life painters

Osias Beert Osias Beert or Osias Beert the Elder (c. 1580 – 1623) was a Flemish painter active in Antwerp who played an important role in the early development of flower and "breakfast"-type still lifes as independent genres in Northern European art. He ...

and

Jacob Foppens van Es Jacob Foppens van Es, Jacob Fopsen van Es or Jacob van Es (c. 1596 Antwerp – 1666 Antwerp) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish Baroque painter known for his still lifes mainly of food and occasionally flower paintings. He collaborated with ...

, some of his works were previously attributed to these two artists.David Rijckaert (II) (1586–1642), ''Still life with shells, a nautilus, vases, glasses and Chinese porcelain''
at Christie’s This is for instance the case with the '' Still life with lobster'' at the

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (, ; , ) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They are part of the institutions of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and consist of six museums: the Oldmasters Museum, the ...

, formerly attributed to Osias Beert and the ''Still life with oysters, fruit, biscuits and ornamental tableware'' in the

Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent The Museum of Fine Arts (, MSK) an art museum in Ghent, Belgium, is situated at the East side of the Citadelpark (near the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst). The museum's collection consists of some 9000 artworks, dating from the Middle Ages to ...

, formerly attributed to Osias Beert and Jacob Foppens van Es.''Still life with oysters, fruit, biscuits and ornamental tableware''
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History The known works of David Rijckaert II fall into two categories: sumptuous still lifes of porcelain, expensive glassware, silverware, pewter dishes, etc. and so-called ‘banketjes’, i.e. banquet or breakfast pieces depicting food on a tabletop.David Rijckaert II (Antwerp, 1586 – Antwerp, 1642), ''Still life with a Silver-gilt covered Cup, Glasses, a Plate of Oysters, a Capon and a Chinese porcelain Plate with Sweets''
at Floris van Wanroij Fine Art His works follow the stylistic characteristics of the earliest still life painters

(c. 1580–late 1624),

Georg Flegel Georg Flegel (1566 – 23 March 1638) was a German painting, painter, best known for his still-life works. Early life and education Flegel was born in Olomouc, Olmütz (Olomouc), Moravia. Around 1580 he moved to Vienna, where he worked as an ...

(1566–1638) and

Clara Peeters Clara Peeters (; ) was a Flemish still-life painter from Antwerp who worked in both the Spanish Netherlands and Dutch Republic. Peeters is the best-known female Flemish artist of this era and one of the few women artists working professionally ...

(?1589–1657) in their chromatic palette, sharply illuminated foreground and meticulous, realistic rendering of the objects depicted. They also resemble to a lesser extent the work of his contemporary, the Antwerp still life artist Jacob van Hulsdonck. The market for his small cabinet pictures would have been educated collectors of Antwerp who were familiar with their symbolism and religious references. Ryckaert's compositions are painstakingly constructed with meticulous attention to detail. The objects and forms are arranged in separation from each other on the inclined surface of a table. By juxtaposing food, dishes and precious objects within various planes in space David Rijckaert II is able to increase their legibility. The frontal and distributive presentation is still archaic while his attention for detail and strong realism show his adherence to the Flemish tradition. Characteristic for his style are the dark abstract backgrounds and the bright, enamel-like colours.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rijckaert, David 2 Date of birth missing Date of death missing 1586 births 1642 deaths Artists from the Spanish Netherlands Businesspeople from the Spanish Netherlands 17th-century Flemish painters Belgian male painters Flemish art dealers Flemish Baroque painters Flemish still life painters Painters from Antwerp