Gert Van Egen
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Gert van Egen (I) (alternative names: Gert va Egerem, Gert van Eggernn) (
Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...
, c. 1550 – Elsinore, 1612) was a
Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...
sculptor who became a sculptor working for the Royal Danish Court.Biographical details
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 ...


Life

Little is known about his life. He was likely trained in Mechelen and was later a pupil or assistant in the
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 ...
workshop of
Cornelis Floris de Vriendt Cornelis Floris or Cornelis (II) Floris De Vriendt (c. 1514 – 20 October 1575) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish sculptor, architect, draughtsman, medallist and designer of prints and luxury. He operated a large workshop in Antwerp from wh ...
whose work was particularly popular in Northern Europe. He was part of a group of pupils and assistants of
Cornelis Floris Cornelis Floris or Cornelis (II) Floris De Vriendt (c. 1514 – 20 October 1575) was a Flemish sculptor, architect, draughtsman, medallist and designer of prints and luxury. He operated a large workshop in Antwerp from which he worked on many ...
, who moved to countries situated on the Baltic Sea to take advantage of Floris’ network and the international popularity of the Floris style. The Baltic region was at the time politically relatively stable when compared to van Egen's native home, the
Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
, which were rife with religious persecution. There was also less competition from other artists in these countries.C. Osiecki, 'Forgotten Netherlandish Artists in the Baltic Region: the migration of Dutch and Flemish sculptors to the Baltic region in the second half of the sixteenth century', CODART eZine 2, Spring 2013
/ref> He was employed, together with his brother Peter, in Denmark at
Kronborg Castle Kronborg is a castle and historical stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalised as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. It was inscribed ...
from 1578 to 1585. The principal architects of Kronborg Castle were his fellow Flemings
Hans Hendrik van Paesschen Hans Hendrik van Paesschen (c. 1510–1582) was a Flemish architect, based in Antwerp, who designed high-style classical buildings in many countries of Northern Europe. Life and times While Italy had the architecture of Andrea Palladio and F ...
and
Anthonis van Obbergen Anthonis van Obbergen (Antonius, Anthonis, Anthony, Antonie, Anton - Obberghen, Oberberg, Opbergen) (1543 in Mechelen – 1611 in Danzig (Gdańsk)) was a Flemish architect and fortifications engineer. After studying masonry in Mechelen and c ...
, whereas the sculptural work was coordinated by Dutchman
Gert van Groningen Gert van Groningen (died ca. 1577) was a sculptor active in Denmark in the 1570s, who probably came from Groningen in the Netherlands. Gert is known to have been a citizen of Aarhus in 1573 when he was commissioned by King Frederik II to build a ...
. At this time king
Frederick II of Denmark Frederick II (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588) was King of Denmark-Norway, Denmark and Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1559 until his death in 1588. A member of the House of Oldenburg, Fre ...
had the medieval fortress radically transformed into a magnificent Renaissance castle. Van Egen was one of the best paid sculptors, indicating that he had important responsibilities in the decoration of Kronborg, although there are no records as to what these were.Gert van Egen
in Kunstindeks Danmark
While his brother Peter likely left with van Obbergen for Danzig upon completion of the work at Kronborg Castle, Gert stayed on in Denmark to work for the Danish royal family.Hanne Honnens de Lichtenberg, 'Johan Gregor van der Schardt: Bildhauer bei Kaiser Maximilian II., am dänischen Hof, und bei Tycho Brahe'
Museum Tusculanum Press, 1991
Frederick II died in 1588 and a year later Gert van Egen was commissioned to make a monumental tomb of the king to be placed in
Roskilde Cathedral Roskilde Cathedral (), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church of Denmark. The cathedral is one of the most important churches in D ...
. The initiative came from the deceased king's son
Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the H ...
and widow, Dowager Queen Sophie. Van Egen remained in the employ of the Danish court for the rest of his life and raised a family in Denmark.


Work

Unlike some of his fellow Flemings working in the Baltic, van Egen not only worked on large monuments, but he also produced small-scale works.


Monuments

The major documented monumental work that he worked on was the tomb for Frederick II in Roskilde Cathedral. The instructions for the design of the tomb were that it should form a unity with the tomb of king
Christian III Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...
, designed by Floris, that was already placed in the Cathedral. It has been suggested that the design for the tomb was by the hand of the sculptor
Johan Gregor van der Schardt Johan (or Jan) Gregor van der Schardt (c. 1530/31 in Nijmegen, Netherlands – after 1581 in Denmark) was a sculptor from the Northern Renaissance. Life He toured Italy in the 1560s and among others worked in Bologna. From 1569 to 1576 he was i ...
who was at the time probably working in Denmark. Of particular interest are the reliefs on the sides of the monument. They depict scenes from the king's campaign against
Dithmarschen Dithmarschen (, ; archaic English: ''Ditmarsh''; ; ) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Flensburg, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, and Steinburg, by the ...
in 1559 and from the
Northern Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War,'' the ''Seven Years' War of the North'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), K ...
that lasted from 1563 to 1570. One scene shows the siege of
Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress (, ) or Akershus Castle ( ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress has been the namesake and centre of the ...
in Oslo of 1567. Van Egen shows a virtuoso technique in the details of this work.Gert van Egen
in Dansk Biografisk Leksikon
The figure of the reclining king on the tomb is also sculpted with precision.


Small-scale work

In addition to the large-scale tomb of Frederick II, it is recorded that in 1600 van Egen delivered to Christian IV a closet with alabaster pieces. Probably he has also made some small portrait reliefs of Frederick II now at Rosenborg and the
Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum is the List of national galleries, national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the Natio ...
in Stockholm and a few similar alabaster works of Danish noblemen. Of the small-scale works four are still known to be extant. There are two
alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...
statuettes both signed with his initials: GE. One represents
Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...
holding the head of
Holofernes Holofernes (; ) was an invading Assyrian general in the Book of Judith, who was beheaded by Judith, who entered his camp and decapitated him while he was intoxicated. Etymology The name 'Holofernes' is derived from the Old Persian name , meanin ...
and is now in a private collection in New York. The other representing Mercury is in the collection of the
Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...
in New York City.Mercury by Gert van Egen
in the Metropolitan Museum
These pieces demonstrate that Van Egen likely received his training primarily in Mechelen, the center of alabaster small-scale sculpture.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:van Egen, Gert Flemish sculptors (before 1830) 16th-century births 1612 deaths People from the Holy Roman Empire Expatriates in Denmark