Jan Cosijn, Jan Cosijn or Jan Cosyns (in French language literature referred to as Jean Cosyn or Jean Cosyns)''Liste des sculpteurs et tailleurs de pierres signalée dans le rnêrne avis du magistrat de Bruxelles''
in: Annales de l'Académie Royale d'Archéologie de Belgique, Volume 23, De Académie Royale d'Archéologie de Belgique, Antwerp, 1867, Imprimerie J.-E. Buschmann, Rue des Israélites, p. 507 (baptised in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

on 4 March 1646 – Brussels, late March 1708) was a Flemish sculptor and architect active in Brussels. He produced statuary for churches as well as architectural designs and decorative elements for the reconstruction of the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (main square) in Brussels.Jean-Louis Van Belle et Jan Caluwaerts, ''Corneille van Nerven. L'architecte méconnu de l'Hôtel de Ville de Bruxelles'', Brusses : Safran (éditions), 2014, p. 81 He further carved delicate ivory reliefs.Berliner, Rudolf, ''Die Bildwerke in Elfenbein, Knochen, Hirsch- und Steinbockhorn mit einem Anhange: Elfenbeinarbeiten der Staatlichen Schloßmuseen in Bayern''
Augsburg : Filser, 1926, p. 73

Life

Very little is known about Cosijn's life. He was the son of Jan Cosijn and Catharina Provoost. He apprenticed with the master sculptor Aert Moerevelt starting from early 1659. He was admitted in 1678 as a master in the ''Vier Gekroonden'', the Brussels guild of masons, sculptors, stonemasons and shale masons.''RTS, Sciences et Lettres. Documents inédits publiés et annotés par Alexandre Pinchart''
Messager des sciences historiques, des arts et de la bibliographie de Belgique, Gand, année 1854 : "Archives des Arts, des Sciences et des lettres, sculpteurs et sculptures, Noms des sculpteurs qui ont fait partie du métier des Quatre-Couronnés à Bruxelles, depuis 1621 à 1716"], p. 39 On 28 May 1689, Jan Cosijn married Willelmijne van Mierlo (Eindhoven, 1667–Brussels, 1703). His wife was a niece of Elisabeth van Mierlo, the wife of the architect Willem de Bruyn (1649–1719), who played an important in the reconstruction of Brussels after the bombardment of 1695. He died in 1708 and was buried in the Church of St. Gaugericus in Brussels. When this church was demolished during the French period in the history of Belgium (1798–1801), the tomb was transferred to the Church of St. Michael and St. Gudula (now Brussels' cathedral). It bears his initials "IC" and an inscription that has become illegible, surrounded by the symbols of his craft: hammer, chisel, trowel, shop hook and

plumb line A plumb bob, plumb bob level, or plummet, is a weight, usually with a pointed tip on the bottom, suspended from a string and used as a vertical direction as a reference line, or plumb-line. It is a precursor to the spirit level and used to est ...

Work

Cosijn produced statuary for churches as well as architectural designs and decorative elements for the reconstruction of the Grand-Place/Grote Markt in Brussels. He further carved delicate ivory reliefs. Bruxelles Bellone 905

His religious statuary includes the statue of

Bartholomew the Apostle Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

which is located on the original site at the Chapel Church in Brussels. Cosijn was involved in some large-scale projects in churches led by other sculptors. The prominent sculptor and architect from Mechelen

Lucas Faydherbe Lucas Faydherbe (also spelled Lucas Faijdherbe; he signed as Lucas Fayd'herbe) (Mechelen, 19 January 1617 – Mechelen, 31 December 1697)Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

in Brussels). Although Faydherbe was fired from his commission in 1653, the work on the chapel was continued by court architect Vincent Anthony until its completion in 1676. The result was a richly decorated, octagonal chapel decorated with black marble. Jerome Duquesnoy the Younger, Gabriel Grupello,

Jan van Delen Jan van Delen (1635/1636, City of Brussels, Brussels – 12 March 1703,Mattheus van Beveren worked on the execution of the sculptural project from about 1673 to 1678.Jan van Delen, ''Caritas''
at Christie'sJean van Delen
at the Biographie Nationale de Belgique, Volume 5, pp. 381-382 Cosijn assisted van Beveren with he sculpting of marble statues for this project, but his exact contribution is not clear. Jan Cosijn - Young Bacchus with billy goat

Jan Cosijn - Young Bacchus with billy goat

Cosijn continued the traditional link between the stonecutters' and sculptors' trades and architecture, which had been common in the 16th century and even before. Other sculptor-architects of his time included Willem de Bruyn in Brussels, Lucas Faydherbe in Mechelen, and Jan Pieter van Baurscheit the Elder in Antwerp. Cosijn was one of the sculptor-architects who contributed to the rebuilding of Brussels after its destruction in the 1695 bombardment. He designed the ''Maison de la Bellone''/''Bellonahuis'' on the Rue de Flandre/Vlaamsesteenweg. He made the facade sculptures and was possibly the project manager for ''Le Roy d'Espagne''/''Den Coninck van Spaignien'' on the Grand-Place. The buildings bear

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

decorations on an otherwise classical-looking facade. On the Grand-Place, he was in charge of the summary reconstruction and reparation of the gable top of ''La Brouette''/''Den Cruywagen'' (completed in 1697) and the summary reconstruction of the ''Bread House'' in 1695.Broodhuis Grote Markt 29
at erfgoed.brussels Cosijn carved some delicate ivory reliefs of Bacchanals, two of which are now in the collection of the

Bavarian National Museum The Bavarian National Museum () in Munich is one of the most important museums of decorative arts in Europe and List of largest art museums, one of the largest art museums in Germany. Since the beginning the collection has been divided into two ...

in Munich. The reliefs depict the youth of Bacchus and a Bacchanal with many

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University ...

and call to mind the ivory works of the earlier Brussels ivory carver Gerard van Opstal.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cosijn, Jan 1646 births 1708 deaths 17th-century Flemish sculptors Flemish Baroque sculptors Flemish Baroque architects Ivory carvers Artists from Brussels