Jan Van De Venne

Jan van der Venne or Jan van de Venne, also known as Pseudo van de Venne (active by 1616 – died before 1651) was a Flemish painter of genre, religious scenes and cabinets.'' The Temptation of St Antony''
at the National Inventory of Continental European Paintings
Many of his works depict "low-life" genre scenes of tooth-pullers, card-players and hurdy-gurdy players, tronies and expressive religious scenes.Hans Vlieghe (1998). ''Flemish Art and Architecture, 1585–1700''. Pelican History of Art. New Haven: Yale University Press, p. 159. He became court painter to the governors of the Spanish Netherlands.

Rediscovery and identification

Works by Jan van der Venne were formerly attributed to an artist referred to as ‘Pseudo-Van de Venne’. This Pseudo-Van de Venne was erroneously believed to be the brother, also called Jan, of the better known Dutch painter Adriaen van de Venne.About Jan van de Venne
at Jean Moust Old Master Paintings Adriaen's brother Jan, however, died in Middelburg in 1625.

Art historian Jacques Foucart from the Louvre corrected the wrong attribution in an article published in 1978. Foucart identified Pseudo-Van de Venne with another Jan van der Venne whom he identified as a Flemish artist.Jacques Foucart, « Une fausse énigme : le pseudo et le véritable Van de Venne », Revue de l'Art, no 42, 1978, p. 53-62 This identification of 'Pseudo-Van de Venne' with Jan van der Venne, an artist believed to have been born in Mechelen c. 1600, has since gained wide acceptance. Art historian Hans Vlieghe proposed in 1983 that the artist was born around 1600 in Mechelen.Hans Vlieghe, « Toward the identification of the Pseudo-Van de Venne, alias Jan van de Venne », dans Essays in Northern European art : presented to Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann on his sixtieth birthday, Doornspijk, 1983, pp. 287-290

Life

Very little is known about Van der Venne's life and career. Even though some of the artist's works bear the mark of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke, he is believed to have been active mainly in Brussels. This is testified by his relationships with prominent personalities in Brussels including at the court.Jan van de Venne, dit le Pseudo van de Venne, in: Vente de prestige - Tableaux Anciens et du XIXe siècle – Tajan, 20 June 2007, p. 16 Both Cardinal-infant Ferdinand and Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, the governors of the Spanish Netherlands, were his patrons. Van der Venne is recorded as a master in the Guild of Saint Luke in Brussels in 1616.

He is believed to have been active as a painter as well as a gilder of moldings and perhaps even a painter of imitation marble on frames and altarpieces. He remained active in Brussels where he died in or before 1651 as is testified by a payment made to his wife in 1651 in which she is described as a widow.

Work

General

Only a few signed paintings by van der Venne are recorded. His oeuvre has been reconstituted based on signed or documented works which show his very individual style, subjects, use of light and brilliancy. His works are typically small-scale oil-on-panel compositions.

Van der Venne specialised in caricatures of so-called 'low-life' subjects, such as card-players, tooth-pullers and musicians, and in expressive religious scenes. His paintings demonstrate harsh caricatures in a stronger light than Adriaen Brouwer, Benjamin Cuyp and Andries Both. His nervous style shows possibly the influence of David Teniers the Elder. Some historians 3even conjecture he may have studied under Teniers. Lucas van Leyden's engravings as well Adam Elsheimer's treatment of the effects of light and shade are also cited as possible influences. Some of his works have formerly been attributed to the style of Rembrandt.

Jan van der Venne is believed to have in turn exerted an influence on other contemporary artists. For instance the Dutch '' Bambocciante'' painter Andries Both is believed to have derived his propensity for caricature-like distortions of the faces and poses of his figures from the compositions of van der Venne.

Tronies

Many of his works are so-called 'tronies', i.e. caricatural portraits of heads. The squeaky misery of the characters he depicts often in profile and the virtuosity of the pasty effects come close to the early production of Georges de La Tour. The use of light that make the clothes and folds flicker also evokes the last French Mannerists such as Claude Vignon or Claude Deruet.

Jan van de Venne occasionally used the paired model whereby two different tronies are paired up and juxtaposed with each other.Jan Muylle, ''Tronies toegeschreven aan Pieter Bruegel''
in: De zeventiende eeuw. Jaargang 17. Uitgeverij Verloren, Hilversum 2001, p. 174-203

Gypsy scenes

Jan van der Venne painted various scenes with gypsies. As many of these works with gypsies ended up in collections in French museums (Aix-en Provence, Auxerre, Besançon, Chambéry, Dijon, Dunkirk, Hazebrouck, Lille, Marseille, Louvre, Quimper and Semur-en-Auxois) he earned the sobriquet 'le Maître des Tziganes' (the Master of the Gypsies) in France.

An example of one of his gypsy scenes is the '' Gypsy family'' at the Louvre, which shows a gypsy family preparing an outdoor meal over a fire while a woman is delousing a child.

The Temptation of St Antony

He also painted various versions of ''The Temptation of St Antony''. This subject was very popular in Flemish art from the late 15th century. Catholics regard Saint Anthony as a model to be emulated as he is believed to have resisted multiple temptations sent to him by the devil. Flemish paintings dealing with the theme of the temptation of Saint Anthony are typically populated with witches and monstrous creatures that tempt him. Van der Venne's versions of ''The Temptation of St Antony'' with different compositions are in museums in Dunkerque, Haarlem and Holbourne and one was sold at Auktionshaus im Kinsky on 28 November 2013 in Vienna (as lot 2).

The version sold at Auktionshaus im Kinsky shows St Anthony in a cave kneeling in front of a table with books. To his right appear fanciful phantoms and in the background a witch with a young woman.Jan van der Venne, genannt Pseudo van der Venne, ''Die Versuchung des Hl. Antonius''
at Auktionshaus im Kinsky

References

Further reading

*J. Foucart, 'Une fausse énigme: le pseudo et le véritable van de Venne', in: ''Revue de l'Art'', 1978, p. 53-62

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Venne, Jan van de
Flemish genre painters
Flemish portrait painters
Flemish history painters
Flemish Baroque painters
Painters from Brussels
Artists from Mechelen
Year of birth uncertain