Jan JanssensJan Janssens
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 ...

(August 1590 in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) 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 the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

– after 1650) was a

Flemish Baroque painter Flemish Baroque painting was a style of painting in the Southern Netherlands during Spanish control in the 16th and 17th centuries. The period roughly begins when the Dutch Republic was split from the Habsburg Spain regions to the south with th ...

and draftsman who is considered to be the most important of the so-called Ghent

Caravaggisti The Caravaggisti (or the "Caravagesques"; singular: "Caravaggista") were stylistic followers of the late 16th-century Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from Mannerism was profound. ...

.Jan Janssens
on the website of 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 ...

These Caravaggisti were part of an international movement of European artists who interpreted the work of Caravaggio and the followers of Caravaggio in a personal manner.Anna Orlando, ''Schede in Lights and Shadows. Caravaggism in Europe, catalogo della mostra, Cesare Lampronti Gallery, London, 2015''
pp. 76-77 Janssens

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

s and other compositions offering very realistic representations of religious motifs adorn many churches in and around Ghent.Hans Vlieghe. "Janssens, Jan." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 23 Dec. 2015 He also worked on commissions for international patrons.Jan Janssens
at De Vlaamse Kunstcollectie

Life

Jan Janssens was born in Ghent in 1590 as the son of Johannes Govaert Janssens. There is no information available about his training. He was in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in the period 1619-1620. Janssens returned to Ghent in 1621 and was admitted to the Ghent Guild of St. Luke as a master. From 1634-1635 and in 1646 Janssens was dean of the Ghent Guild of St. Luke. On 29 August 1623, he married Petronilla de Rop with whom he had 6 children. In 1640, he was commissioned by the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Radiën to make a work for the

Saint Bavo Cathedral Saint Bavo's Cathedral, also known as Sint-Baafs Cathedral (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. The Gothic building is the seat of the Diocese of Ghent and is named for Saint Bavo of Ghent. It contains the well-known ''Ghent A ...

in Ghent. The painting was delivered four years later but was not executed by Janssens, but by

Nicolas de Liemaker Nicolaas Liemaker, or ''de Liemaker'', ''de Liemaeckere, surnamed Roose'', or Nicolaes Roose (1601 – 1646), a Flemish historical painter, was born at Ghent in 1601. He was the son of Jacob De Liemaker, a painter upon glass, and is said by Descam ...

. Jan Janssens died in Ghent around 1650. His house, De Pijl (The Arrow), is sold.

Work

Jan Janssens’ known work is fairly limited.Denis Coekelberghs, ''La résurrection d’une Résurrection. Un tableau de Jan Janssens (1643 ?) retrouvé''
3 April 2009, in: La Tribune de l'Art During his stay in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Janssens came into contact with

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

painters like

Dirck van Baburen Dirck Jaspersz. van Baburen ( – 21 February 1624) was a Dutch people, Dutch Painting, painter and one of the Utrecht School, Utrecht Caravaggisti. Biography Dirck van Baburen was probably born in Wijk bij Duurstede, but his family moved to ...

Gerard van Honthorst Gerard van Honthorst (Dutch: ''Gerrit van Honthorst''; 4 November 1592 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painting, Dutch Golden Age painter who became known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes, eventually receiving the nickn ...

and

Hendrick ter Brugghen Hendrick Jansz ter Brugghen (or Terbrugghen) (1588 – 1 November 1629) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter of genre scenes and religious subjects. He was one of the Dutch followers of Caravaggio – the so-called ''Utrecht Caravaggism, Utrecht C ...

. These Dutch artists were followers of the style of

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

and are known as the Dutch or Utrecht Caravaggisti, after their main centre in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, where there was still a sizeable and prosperous Catholic population. Their work influenced him stylistically.Jan Janssens
on the website of the

He was also influenced by the work of

Bartolomeo Manfredi Bartolomeo Manfredi (baptised 25 August 1582 – 12 December 1622) was an Italian painter, a leading member of the Caravaggisti (followers of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio) of the early 17th century. Life Manfredi was born in Ostiano, ...

. Janssens took the Caravaggio style back with him to Ghent and he is considered to be one of the Ghent Caravaggisti along with Antoon van den Heuvel and Melchior de la Mars. He worked principally on commissions for

His chief subject matter are biblical and, to a lesser extent, mythological themes painted in a large format. His favourite themes are Christ crowned with thorns and the mocking of Christ. He also returned various times to the theme of the Caritas Romana, even making one version (1620-1625,

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal aca ...

) based very closely on a work by Dirck van Baburen on the same theme. He also painted various versions of the ''Resurrection of Christ''. The principal version is the

one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

in the

St. Salvator's Cathedral St. Salvator's Cathedral (), also known as the Cathedral of the Saviour and St. Donat, is the Roman Catholic cathedral of Bruges, Belgium. The cathedral is dedicated to the ''Verrezen Zaligmaker'' (Dutch, 'risen saviour', cf. Latin ''salvator ...

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

. In this composition he shows his originality and his independence of the Utrecht Caravaggisti and other Caravaggisti. The inspiration for the work may be an anonymous Italian Mannerist drawing.Denis Coekelberghs, ''Un dessin maniériste italien, source d’inspiration de Jan Janssens et de Gérard Seghers''
1 December 2011, in: La Tribune de l'Art In this work he also made an effort to depict the materials such as the weapons and armour, beards, fabrics, fur and drums in a very realistic manner. He also distanced himself from the Utrecht Caravaggisti by not giving the figures excessive expressions but rather realistic emotional expressions. Janssens' work conforms to the prescriptions of the

Counter Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

and the Baroque through its merciless and sober realism and dramatic effects with hidden light that shines on his figures. These effects were intended to ensure a strong emotional impact on the viewer. One of his masterpieces is ''The Martyrdom of

Saint Barbara Saint Barbara (; ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Greek saint and martyr. There is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings nor in the origin ...

'' (which in fact deals with

Saint Agatha Agatha of Sicily () is a Christian saint. Her Calendar of saints, feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Sicilia (Roman province), Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred . She is one of several virgin martyrs who are ...

), which is kept in the

Saint Michael's Church, Ghent Saint Michael's Church () is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic church (building), church in Ghent, Belgium, built in a late Gothic architecture, Gothic style. It is known for its rich interior decoration. History Documents from 1105 testify to the ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Janssens, Jan 1590 births 1650 deaths Flemish Baroque painters Flemish history painters Artists from Ghent

Life

Work

References

Further reading

External links